How To Make Money From Special Reports

We all experience times when something unexpected happens and we need to make extra money. One of the fastest ways I know to get money coming in is by selling reports. The problem is, if you are on a tight schedule, you may not have time to put a report together...or do you?

Discover how to make money selling special reports to online biz owners. This quick report includes practical suggestions and action steps to get started without any huge investments or steep learning curves.

It's easy to get started. Grab your free copy here:
Make Money From Special Reports

Why Entrepreneurs Get Nothing Done & Spend Too Much Money

Yup, I said it.

Entrepreneurs everywhere are spending a FORTUNE on info-products, coaches, teleseminars, in-person events, membership-programs, etc. and it’s getting them NOWHERE.

Now, I’m obviously not advocating spending zero dollars because let’s face it, we all do need a bit of help. What I AM encouraging is to stop spending your money with everyone on the planet and find one person you resonate with, is where you want to be and gets the latest stuff happening on the web.

Otherwise, you end up like most entrepreneurs. You hire a coach and then another coach and then a guru and then you buy big group coaching programs and then you attend in-person events with high ticket prices and then you hire an online business manager and then a web designer and then an SEO expert and… and… and…

You get the point (I hope)…

What happens is that instead of listening to ONE person who knows what they are doing and is where you want to be, you are listening to ten or twenty or thirty people who all tell you DIFFERENT things and make your head spin. All of these ideas that you’re paying for are great except nothing is being implemented because you just don’t know where to start.

So, if you’re not making any money and you’re scratching your head trying to figure out why, even after all of this great advice you are getting nowhere, FIRE half (or more) of the people you’ve hired to “coach” you and find yourself an awesome coach, strategist or someone who can lead you alongside your own amazing and brilliant thoughts and ideas.

Do so and I guarantee that you’ll make more money this year than you ever have.

Put down your wallets… and watch this video.

------------------

Erin Blaskie is the owner of Business Services, ETC - A Global Internet Marketing & Implementation Firm. Her company helps businesses from around the world take their practice online and create huge success using various internet marketing tactics. Erin herself has been featured in three print books (”Becoming an Online Business Manager” by Tina Forsyth, “My So-Called Freelance Life” by Michelle Goodman, and “The Official AWE Emerging Trends Guide 2009” compiled by the Association of Web Entrepreneurs), honored as Office Arrow’s 2008 Runner-Up Business Woman of the Year, interviewed by countless gurus and media personalities (John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing, Sheri McConnell, Stacy Karacostas, Gina McNew) and featured in major news publications (ABCNews.com, Ottawa Citizen and Employment Journal).

The Three C's of Building an Audience with Social Media

What's the biggest difference between people who are successful in social media and those who are not?  Simple--the successful people have built themselves an audience. 

An audience doesn't necessarily mean having 10,000 followers here or 5,000 friends there.  At its most basic level it might be that.  But what's a bunch of friends and followers if they aren't helping you to grow your business? 

Consider this: what if your "audience" isn't anyone who would be interested in what it is you offer?  What if they were people just looking to boost their numbers without any interest in engaging with you in any sort of dialogue?  What if they were primarily focused on promoting their own stuff the majority of the time?  These types of scenarios are clearly not ideal.

So what should you really be looking to achieve?  Building the right kind of audience with social media means your participation there is leading you to be seen as a credible, trust-worthy source who may be able to help others solve whatever problem they may be having.

It means you are reaching a market of people you have deliberately sought out through search strategies who might need what you have.
When you've grabbed the attention of your followers and friends and built interest and credibility, you now have a way to gain traffic to your website, capture more leads and continue building and strengthening the relationship.

It's all in the three C's:

1.  Content:  Content is the lifeblood of successful social media marketers.  What reasons are you giving people to listen to you? This goes two ways: sharing your own helpful posts, links, tips and resources--and promoting and sharing the content of others.  This does three main things: establishes your expertise, drives traffic to your site, and provides your audience with helpful information.  Remember, the content you are sharing should not always be your own.

2.  Conversation: Simply by being seen as someone who provides great content in the social media space you will naturally find yourself engaged in conversation.  Having these one on one conversations is what is going to make you stand out among the noise and deepen the relationship.  In addition, when you make it a habit to promote others, this brings more "social appreciation" your way.  These interactions cause others to seek out more information about you beyond where you've made the initial connection.

3.  Conversion:  Once you have converted someone to a newsletter subscriber, blog subscriber or paying client or customer, you've taken the steps toward acquiring another raving fan.  These loyal folks will not only bring you more sales, but will be much more likely to sing your praises to others out in the social media universe.  This is how you grow your "tribe."
Do you see how simple and effective it is to build an audience of captivated friends and followers?   Do you see the difference this could make to your bottom line?
I know you do. :)

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelming aspects of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

The Journey of Online Marketing and Social Media

We're a society of want-it-nowers, always looking for instant results. We love our credit cards, microwaves and drive-thrus too much for this mentality not to creep into our online marketing activities.

It takes time to build a list, to put out good content, to be seen as an expert in your niche. Conversion of the leads you capture through social media is almost never immediate.

One of the most frequent complaints I hear from small business owners looking to get more clients and customers by building an online presence is that it "takes too much time."

"Oh, yeah, that would be nice but I just don't have the time."

Many of these people have an existing offline business and are either struggling to attract more business, or are burning themselves out dealing with day to day responsibilities, endless networking meetings, seeing one-on-one clients and generally putting out fires. Therefore, adding online marketing into the mix sounds like one more "thing" they just can't imagine juggling.

The irony is that the internet can provide the leverage that would allow these small business owners and solopreneurs some of the relief they are so desperate for.  It's not a magic pill and it does take time. (I know, they don't want to hear that.)

The other group consists of those who are trying to build an online business and grow impatient with not seeing those quick results.  Sorry, but it's not going to happen that way. In my experience, success comes as the result of consistently doing small, sometimes boring tasks day in and day out.

You might not see any fruit from your labor for weeks or months on end.  But it is a result of those consistent actions that momentum will build and progress will be made.  This is especially true with social media.

"But I have 5,768 followers and 2,987 friends!  No one is buying from me!"

"I've been on Twitter for 2 months and I'm not making any money!"

In this case, it's not only time, but what you are spending your time doing there.  Are you providing value, having conversations, driving traffic outside of these sites?

Yes, there is a lot to learn--but there is so much information available out there.  Online marketing and social media can be absolutely amazing for your business IF you are willing to learn how to do it right and make the investment of time.

What are you spending your time on?

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelming aspects of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

How to Make Your Blog More Social Media Friendly

Having a blog is a great step in the right direction if you are looking for ways to dive into social media.  Conversations are at the core of what it's about, after all.  However, there is a lot more that you can do once you've got that blog up and running.  You can think of your blog as a hub connecting all of your social media activities--and you'll want to encourage visitors to interact with you socially in as many ways as possible.  Here are some ideas that you can run with:

Social badges, buttons and widgets (oh my!): Why not advertise your social presence while you have your readers' attention?  There are many different ways to do this. 

Facebook recently introduced Fan Boxes for those users with Fan Pages. These allow Page administrators to embed the most recent activity from their Page right in their website or blog.  If you don't have a Fan Page and want to let people know about your personal Facebook profile instead, you can also add a badge to your site provided by Facebook.  Use the "Create a Profile Badge" link all the way at the bottom under your picture. 

Facebook Connect is another option--this is a tool that allows software, websites, mobile devices and more to integrate with Facebook and send information between them.

Want to encourage your readers to follow you on Twitter?  A simple Google search shows that there are many different badges out there to add to your site.  Twittercounter.com has one of my favorites--the "big bird button" has a sleek design that displays your number of followers. 

Finally, Google Friend Connect and MyBlogLog are two online services that allow web users to connect with their friends on different websites.  These free services help foster community around blogs and blog authors.

Submission buttons: If you use the Wordpress blog platform, a wonderful plugin to use is "Sociable."  This adds a row of buttons to the bottom of your posts for various social sites and tools such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Digg, StumbleUpon and more.  This way, readers can easily submit your content to be bookmarked, voted on and shared.

If you aren't a Wordpress user, the ShareThis or AddThis buttons are a great alternative.

Share-friendly content: It goes without saying that you want to add content to your blog that provides lots of value for your readers.  This is what builds your subscriber base and ultimately determines your success.  Some content is more "shareable" than others.

As one example, people just love lists.  "Top 10 tips on...." "7 Ways to...." -you get the idea.  Consider adding these types of posts to the mix, because readers are more apt to share them. 

It's also worth mentioning headlines. Keep in mind what might be attention-grabbing when you write your blog posts' titles.  People will be more likely to not only read further, but to share it with others and have those people share it too.

These days, people expect to be able to interact with you when they visit your site.  Make it super simple for them and they'll be back for more!

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelming aspects of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

How to Avoid One on One Client Burnout with Multiple Streams of Income

When it comes to one on one clients, I often see solo professionals either exhausted from working with them all the time--or frustrated and not making the money they want because they are focused on selling services or products at the highest price point they offer.
If this sounds familiar, you may adore your clients and love helping them, but are feeling burnt out or stuck because one on one sessions are all you are offering. 

So what's the solution?

Leveraging your time and talent by diversifying the ways you earn income in your business.  One of the greatest things about running all or part of your business online is how easy it is to do this.  Let's be honest, it's no fun when a few of your clients all quit in the same month and you're left scrambling to replace that income.
Similarly, if you are finding prospects saying they can't afford what you offer, you still don't want to lose them completely.  They've shown interest in you already--wouldn't it be great to still be able to help them at a price they are willing to pay?

Some marketers refer to this as the "funnel" system of marketing and it is really quite clever.  Because not only does it allow you to still be able to make a sale, if you've provided them value at that lower price point, they are more likely to come back and buy from you repeatedly--and at higher prices.

So what do these multiple streams look like and why are they considered leveraged? It is all about reaching more people without spending more of your time.   Here are some specific examples:
E-books: These are simple to create.  Just PDF a Word document and you're good to go.  This type of offering is usually the lowest priced item in the funnel (often between $17 and $47 depending on how comprehensive they are), and the best thing about it is that you write it once but sell it over and over.  This is definitely a smart use of your time.

Teleseminars: All you really need is a phone for this.  There are plenty of free conference call services that also record the calls for you.  Once you have a recording, you can also sell that as a product afterward or offer it as a bonus with another offering.  Teleseminars can be done as a one-off call or a series of calls.

Group coaching/training or e-coaching:  We all have valuable knowledge we could teach and share with others.  Believe that others would be very willing to pay to learn what it is you know!  A great way to accomplish this is to train or teach a group of people all at the same time.  This can be done by phone, interactively by webinar, or even by email.

Membership sites: Sometimes referred to as continuity programs, these are private sites that people pay a fee, usually monthly, to be a part of.  It's a way to provide useful, exclusive content to paying members and it's a win-win: they get valuable tips, lessons and strategies from an expert and you get paid consistently and by multiple members.

Affiliate marketing:  Have you used products you've loved and would be happy to rave to others about?  Consider becoming an affiliate if a program for that product is offered.  Essentially, because you are helping to spread the word for the creator of that product, they are giving you a percentage of the sales they make.  Pretty easy!
Next time you are stressed over a lack of clients or simply worn out from one on one appointments, commit to getting going on at least one of these streams.  If you still need convincing, think about all the time it will help you free up to be with friends and family. 
After all, isn't that what it's all about?

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelming aspects of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

6 Ways to Integrate Twitter and Facebook

Twitter and Facebook are not the only social media sites out there--not by a long shot.  But they are of course two of the most well known and widely used.  They are also very similar in that they both essentially function as "status updates."  Because of this similarity, some really great tools and applications have come out which allow users to integrate the two.  Here are six of the tools I have used and like:

Twitter clients like Seesmic or Tweetdeck: These are two Twitter desktop clients that allow you to browse your friends' Facebook status updates and update your own status right from their interface--no need to have a web browser open or be logged into the Twitter or Facebook sites.

Twitter or Selective Twitter Status applications: These two Facebook applications allow your tweets to automatically be posted to your profile.  Selective Twitter Status is great because you decide which specific tweets go to update your Facebook status by adding #fb after them.  This way your friends who aren't familiar with Twitter lingo aren't confused by your frequent status updates.

Vlingo application: Vlingo is a free application for the Blackberry, Nokia and iPhone.  It allows you to update your Facebook or Twitter status using your voice right from your phone!

FriendFeed application:  If you use FriendFeed, which consolidates all of your social media activities across different networks in one place, you can add the Facebook FriendFeed application.  If you are importing your Twitter feed, every time you tweet it will post to your Facebook wall.  This may be preferable to updating your status with every tweet such as with the Twitter for Facebook application.

Tweetpo.st: Tweetpo.st is a very cool site which allows you to post tweets as Facebook status updates, post links you tweet on your Facebook wall (so your friends can watch videos and see pictures right in their News Feed), ignore @replies, change @mentions to real names and more.  It does all of this by using Facebook Connect.

Custom Profile Box or Extended Info applications: Finally, if you are just looking for a way to let your Facebook friends know that you tweet and encourage them to follow you, you can add one of these Facebook applications.  They both allow you to insert a graphic or text, which you can then easily link to your Twitter profile.  For example, I added a clickable Twitter bird logo that reads "follow me on Twitter."

Now you can save time and expend less effort on the two most popular social sites by using these helpful (and free!) social networking tools.

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelming aspects of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

Simple Ways to Get More Visitors to Your Blog or Website

You've picked the domain, decided on the design and started posting great content that showcases your expertise.  The hard work is over, right?

Not exactly--after all, you need people to actually read that useful content that you're diligently cranking out. So how do you get those eyeballs to your site? There are literally hundreds of ways to drive traffic to your blog or website, but here I will highlight just a few of the ways to drive traffic and generate interest in what it is you have to offer.

Write articles: Most of the article directories online are free to submit your articles to. They usually allow you to add a resource box at the end, which can include a blurb about you and your business and a link back to your site.  Some of the directories I like to use include EZine Articles, Go Articles, Idea Marketers and Articles Base.
Comment on other blogs: When you comment on other high-traffic blogs in your niche you not only get a link back to your own site, you're also boosting your site's visibility in front of the blog owner and the others leaving comments.

Social media: Provide links to your latest posts on sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and invite your friends and followers to leave their thoughts on the particular topic in the comments.  You don't want to do this for every post as it might be viewed as spamming--but it's perfectly acceptable to occasionally encourage others to click through and read a post you feel particularly proud of.  Also, be sure to include your site's URL in all of your profiles.
Hold a contest: A great way to generate interest in your site is to hold a contest where the entries are comments left on your post.  For example, you could give away someone else's product in exchange for writing a post about it and then publicize the contest through your social networks.

Email signature:  Most of us send numerous emails in any given day--capitalize on this by adding a link to your site in your signature line.
Basic SEO: You don't need to be super-knowledgeable about search engine optimization to benefit from it.  If you use the Wordpress blog platform, install the All in One SEO Pack plugin. This post gives some simple and easy to understand tips on SEO in general.
Post in forums:  Many online forums and message boards will allow you to use a short signature line at the end of your posts.  You can include a link to your site here.

Blog directories:  A simple Google search will reveal that there are many blog directories online where you can list your site for free.  These sites are important because they provide a way to get links to your site--which boosts your ranking in the search engines.  A good list of some of the best directories is here.

Guest post:  Reach out to fellow bloggers in your niche and offer to guest post for them.  Make sure you find out specifically what kind of topics they are looking for and that your audiences both compliment each other.  Offer them a spot guest posting on your blog as well.

Link to other blogs:  It's a good idea to give "link love" to other bloggers by mentioning them in post once in awhile and providing a link to their site.  Think of it as good blogging "karma."

Post valuable content regularly:  I've saved what is probably the most important strategy for last.  Many times, this is what makes the difference between blogs that succeed and those that fail.  The above tips are effective for sure, but in the long run this is what will keep people coming back for more as well as draw new readers in.

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelming aspects of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

Social Media Benefits 101: Back to Basics

As a small business owner, it's important to your success to understand social media's benefits and why it's worth the time to learn and make a part of your marketing routine.
So why care about social media right now?
Proves You are a Living, Breathing, REAL Person
It sounds kind of funny but it's crucial.  Humans need to feel they are connecting with others and that their voices are being heard. You can't really get away with being a faceless entity doing business on the web anymore.  Those who are still doing it that way risk alienating those making the buying decisions.

Branding
There is plenty of opportunity to build and make visible your particular brand--while still being human. You don't need to think of this in terms of the big boys like Starbucks or Pepsi-type branding.  It could even just be colors, a logo, your avatar picture or tagline.  If you use the tools regularly, each impression strengthens others' awareness of what your products or services are about.  Keep your messages and branding activities consistent and cohesive and you have a powerful way to promote yourself and what it is you offer.

Viral Word of Mouth
Is every friend or follower you have on social sites going to be a member of your target market?  No, but it doesn't matter.  If you are providing good content, helpful links and regularly contributing something useful to the community, the viral nature of social media will help push this content through to the people who
need to hear it.

Speed of Results
While building up the ranking of your website takes time and often can't be predicted, the impact of social networks and tools can be instantaneous.

Traffic
When you list your link in your profile or direct people to your latest post or article it is just another way to drive traffic to your blog or website.  I've had great results with Facebook and Twitter by looking at the traffic source stats in my Google Analytics page.

Value Contribution
You have something of value to offer others--that's why you're in business.  The conversational nature of social media makes it easy to engage others in discussions which naturally reveal what you may be able to help them with.  Be authentic, stay involved, an give regardless of how much you get back.

It's Not Going Away
The names and faces of the latest tools and networks may change but the benefits that their interactive nature provides are real and working very well for countless small business owners.
Isn't it time you discovered that for yourself? :)

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelming aspects of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

10 Easy Ways to Make Your Time on Twitter More Interactive

When it comes to Twitter, I always stress to clients that results don't happen overnight.  This is not to discourage them from using it to enhance their marketing--but to help them understand the power of regular, personal interactions and the cumulative effect this can have on their business.

Each time you engage others on Twitter, you are planting seeds that can have potentially big payoffs in the future.  Once I explain this concept, the next concern is usually that this will be a huge time investment.  It's not--if you leverage your time by applying a few of the select strategies I discuss here.

1.    Re-tweet: Re-posting others' interesting tweets is one of the simplest and most effective ways to be discovered and gain more followers.  For the people that already are following you, it's a quick way to get on their radars.

2.    Thought-provoking quote: People just love great quotes.  You have a good chance of being re-tweeted with these.  The ones you choose also help you share a slice of your personality.

3.    Feedback on someone's link: Take a minute to visit a link someone has posted.  They will often preface the link with what it's about.  If it interests you, check it out and share your thoughts with the poster afterwards.

4.    Answer a question: Know the answer? By all means, share your expertise. If the question pertains to your niche, that's even better.

5.    Ask a question: By the same token, people like to share their own knowledge.  Give them an opportunity. 

6.    Thank someone for their re-tweet or compliment: Gratitude is powerful and people appreciate and tend to remember when you've expressed it.

7.    Respond to @ replies and direct messages: Try to respond to both the public and private messages you receive.  It's just common courtesy.  Plus, there are many people who unfortunately do not do it--so exceed others' expectations by making a habit of doing so.

8.    Participate in #followfriday: FollowFriday is simply a fun event every Friday on Twitter where people recommend others to follow.  They add the hash tag after they've given the Twitter usernames.  If you have people in mind you think would be good to follow, tell others--there's a good chance those you've recommended will return the favor.

9.   Use Blip.fm: If you're a music lover (who isn't?), try using Blip.fm.  All you have to do is set up a free account on their site and you can start playing DJ.  Choose the option to send the songs you've "blipped" to Twitter.  Music really does bring people together.  Of course, you don't want to fill up your entire Twitter stream with blips, but once in awhile share your musical tastes with others.

10.    Post a poll: Do you need feedback on something? Yep, there's a hashtag for that: #poll.  People love participating in these.

By choosing to put a few of these strategies in place each day, you'll build momentum, raise your profile and start to notice others engaging and re-tweeting you more.  As in real life, it's about personality.  Let that come through and it will pique others' curiosity, drive them to seek out more information about you, and eventually cause them to click through to your site.

Commit to implementing these techniques regularly--it essentially comes down to two things, interacting and providing value--and you will begin being perceived as an expert, see yourself getting recommended by others, and be well on your way to building your own "tribe" of raving fans.

Now, you can't say you don't know what to tweet about. :)

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelming aspects of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

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Three Ways to Use Tweetdeck to Improve Your Twitter Experience

Recently, Tweetdeck announced an upgrade and this made a lot of people very, very happy.  The reason?  Tweetdeck used to experience some bugs and Adobe Air did not make that any easier.  Now, Tweetdeck is back with an improved interface and a fabulous new iPhone app.

However, some people are still perplexed at why one should use Tweetdeck over just going straight to a browser, accessing it via a mobile device or using something over Tweetdeck.

Here are three ways to use Tweetdeck to improve your Twitter experience:

1. Categorize Your Twitter Followers

Tweetdeck has these things called "groups" and you can setup as many of them as you want.  Once setup, you have the ability to then list them in columns for easy access and so you can see them at all times.  Some of the columns I recommend include: clients, team, favorites, tech tips, etc.  Categorize the things that are most important so you can converse with your rock stars in a much easier way.

2. Use Tweetdeck to Clear Replies You've Seen

Do you ever find your @ replies just get to be overwhelming?  If so, use Tweetdeck to "mark them as read" so that you know you've either seen it or actioned it and you can now move on.  The worst thing about the browser interface is that you can often forget if you've replied or not and then spend a lot of time going back into your history. Tweetdeck eliminates that.

3. Setup Notifications to Play When Tweets Come In Directed at You

Now, some people may find this distracting but as more and more people use Twitter as their primary means of communication, you can use Tweetdeck to be notified immediately as to when someone mentions your name or messages you directly. This will help you stay on the top of your game without being too distracted by e-mail and telephone.

These are just three ways that you can use Tweetdeck to improve your Twitter experience.  It helps with automation, ease of use and helps to keep that conversation going.

------------------

Erin Blaskie is the owner of Business Services, ETC - A Global Internet Marketing & Implementation Firm. Her company helps businesses from around the world take their practice online and create huge success using various internet marketing tactics. Erin herself has been featured in three print books (”Becoming an Online Business Manager” by Tina Forsyth, “My So-Called Freelance Life” by Michelle Goodman, and “The Official AWE Emerging Trends Guide 2009” compiled by the Association of Web Entrepreneurs), honored as Office Arrow’s 2008 Runner-Up Business Woman of the Year, interviewed by countless gurus and media personalities (John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing, Sheri McConnell, Stacy Karacostas, Gina McNew) and featured in major news publications (ABCNews.com, Ottawa Citizen and Employment Journal).

Your Fr*ee Offering: The First Step in Building the Know, Like and Trust Factor

You have heard it before, no doubt: people buy from those they know, like and trust--often referred to as the "KLT factor" for short.  This is something that needs to be established over time, and the way to begin the process is to capture website visitors' contact information so you can begin building a relationship with them.

With so many people requesting your email address on the internet, it's not enough anymore to simply offer a newsletter in exchange for the information--and it's certainly not enough to ask for the information without providing anything in return. 

Enter the "fr*ee taste."  It's not likely a person new to your website is going to buy on the first visit, especially a product or service with a higher price point. (In fact, it is often said that a person needs to see your message 7 to 12 times before they decide to buy from you.) What they are really looking for is a risk-fr*ee introduction to what your business is all about, and whether it can help solve their most pressing problems.  This no-cost offering can take on many forms, but here are some of the most common:

An e-course: This works best when you use an autoresponder service such as Constant Contact or AWeber.  You can write up 5 to 10 lessons and have them go out over a period of a week or two. The lessons do not have to be long, they just need to convey your expertise on a topic your target market is eager to learn about.

A free report: Again, no need to go super in-depth with this--one idea is to write up a list of recommended resources in your niche. You could also compile a list of "top ten tips" or create a checklist for how to do something.  Simply turn it into a PDF download when you're done.

An audio file: If you'd rather speak than write, you can record an audio for others to download.  Many people would rather listen than read, so this can be an enticing option for your website visitors. 

Along with this complimentary offering, people will still receive your newsletter or e-zine.  You simply tell them that for signing up they will get a subscription to it along with their fr*ee gift. A newsletter is what will continue to build and strengthen your relationship with your subscribers over time.  If you write a blog, it can work the same way--provide consistent, good content for the people who subscribe to your RSS feed.  This way, when you make those paid offers down the road, they will be much more likely to take you up on it.

The bottom line? Valuable content + familiarity breeds more sales! :)

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelming aspects of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

Social Media in 15 Minutes a Day

The constant "market research" I do with my clients, blog readers and newsletter subscribers points to one major theme: it feels like there's just not enough time in the day to devote to social media.  Business owners and professionals logically know that it can benefit them, but they freeze up or freak out when they see all of the tools and options available out there.

I have written blog posts and articles in the past about this topic, but I thought it would be useful to give a few specific bite-size strategies you can implement daily--and in a quick and painless way.  Assuming you have a profile set up on at least one of the major social sites--LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook--here are some simple tactics for "socializing" without stress:

*Drop in to Facebook and check out who among your friends is having a birthday and wish them a happy one on their wall. 

*Update your status on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook all at once by using Ping.fm.  Ping.fm is a free service which allows users to post to multiple social sites simultaneously.

*Scan the news feed on your Facebook Home page and comment on or "like" interesting tidbits posted by your friends.

*Comment on high-traffic blogs in your niche.

*Check out the activity in any groups you belong to on LinkedIn or Facebook and ask or answer a few questions there.

*Head over to Twitter and post a helpful link, return new follows, share a picture by using TwitPic or poll your followers.

*If you blog, set up the BlogLink and NetworkedBlogs applications on LinkedIn and Facebook to import your posts.

*Request or write a recommendation on LinkedIn.

*Send an update to your Facebook Fans or post an event to your profile.

The key is not to expect overnight results nor feel you need to spend hours a day on social sites in order to make any headway.  Choosing a handful of strategies and implementing them on a regular basis won't take a ton of time or energy.  What it will do is build momentum gradually but steadily. This is what leads to relationships, word of mouth, traffic, subscribers and ultimately, more sales.

Pick one or two networks and focus on those--you don't need to be everywhere!  Once you have your profiles up and running, it only takes a small investment of time per day to interact and leave your mark.  Remember, the more someone feels like they know and trust you, the more likely they are to buy.  In the meantime, take small steps everyday to build and strengthen those relationships with your friends, followers and contacts.

 

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelming aspects of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

Simple Ways to Measure Your Social Media Efforts

Business owners are used to tracking their results when it comes to marketing, whether online or off.  There are certain methods for calculating your return on investment which are usually rather straightforward.

Along comes social media marketing and suddenly measuring your ROI is not so cut and dry.  I am often asked how you can tell whether the time you've spent on social media activities is really making a difference.  Here are some easy (and free) ways to help determine whether your social media efforts are sizzling--or fizzling.

Profile engagement: In other words, are people in your target market commenting on your Facebook wall, inviting you to join groups on LinkedIn, replying to you on Twitter, and so on?
Blog comments:  This will tell you not only that your content is fresh, interesting and worthy of reading--but that readers are willing to stick around and take the time to engage you.

Blog subscribers:  If readers like what they see and want to be kept informed of each time you post, you can be sure you've struck a chord with them--and increased the possibility that they will respond positively to offers you make in the future.

E-zine subscribers: If the visitors being driven to your site by social media are being converted into newsletter subscribers, you know that you have appealed to them enough to further the relationship with you.  Getting their permission to communicate with them on a regular basis will only strengthen the "KLT" (know, like and trust) factor.

Website metrics: A free tool like Google Analytics makes it easy to see your unique visitors, time spent on the site, page views per visitor, frequency of visits, conversions and more.
Social bookmarking/social news: Are your blog posts being bookmarked or voted up on sites like Delicious, Digg and StumbleUpon?

Followers and friends: I will be the first person to say that quantity doesn't always mean quality--but it is one indication of whether you're being seen, heard and offering something of value.
Links from other blogs: Are other relevant sites linking to yours?  This means you are providing valuable content as well as posting with consistency.

Products/services sold: The ultimate goal, of course.  All of the indicators above help give you a clearer picture of whether it's likely this goal will be reached.

So, it comes down to: Are you find-able?  Are you being seen as an expert?  Do people want to find out more about what it is you do?
You may not be able to equate your interactions to dollars now, but you are planting seeds which can have big payoffs later on.  And that makes social media well worth most small business owners' time.

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelming aspects of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

When Marketing Online, Social Media is Only One Piece of the Puzzle

With social media fever running at an all-time high, it's easy for people to lose sight of the fact that these tools are only one part of an overall online marketing strategy.

While Tweeting, Facebooking and the like are fantastic methods, they are not the only game in town.  For best results, you will want to have a varied mix of marketing tools in play all at once.

However, it is worth mentioning that before you even start implementing any marketing strategies, you'll want to be crystal clear about whom it is you are trying to reach.  What is your niche?  Who is your target market and what is it that they want?  What is your message to them?  This is a point of "stuckness" for many clients and it does take work to discover.  But once you have that, reaching them becomes a whole lot easier.

At that point, much of your job centers on driving traffic to your website or blog so that prospective clients or customers can find out more. (You DO have a site, don't you?)  One of the best ways to increase the chances that someone will eventually buy from you is to build an email list.  Essentially, you want to have a way to capture people's email address and first name so that you may keep in touch with them, build trust, and make offers in the future.  It's a good idea to entice people to provide their information by offering something in exchange, such as a free report or email course.  Then, keep yourself on their radar by sending them a weekly or bi-weekly email newsletter.

Social media is an awesome way to drive traffic and build your list, but it is only one way.  Consider these other techniques as well (just a few of many):

*Writing and submitting articles to article directories like Ezinearticles.com
*Commenting on high traffic blogs and forums
*Guest blogging
*Offering free teleseminars
*Being a podcast or internet radio guest
*Utilizing your email signature
*Pay Per Click (Google Adwords)
*Implementing basic Search Engine Optimization on your site

It's beyond the scope of this article, but you should be sure you are using some form of a launch strategy when you are ready to begin selling a new service or product.  Unfortunately, "if you build it they will come" does not apply to online businesses.  You need to create an increasing buzz and sense of excitement about your upcoming offer in order to increase the chances that people will buy.  This is known as the "pre-launch," and it can make a huge difference in the number of sales that you make. 

One final area I'll mention is copy.  Copywriting is a great skill to learn in order to make your sales pages really effective.  Your words matter and they can have a tremendous effect on a person who is considering purchasing from you.  There are plenty of resources available to learn about this, and you don't have to become a master of it.  Knowing and using a few key techniques can go a long way. 

So, be a well-rounded marketer.  Use sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube along with the other strategies I've suggested and the results you are looking for--more traffic, more subscribers, more clients, more sales and more money--will certainly follow.

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelming aspects of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

Getting Started with Online Video in 4 Simple Steps

Video is one of the hottest things right now on the web.  How hot?  In March 2009, web information provider comScore released their data regarding the consumption of online video. Their report showed that Internet users in the U.S. watched 14.5 billion online videos during the month--an increase of 11% over February's numbers.  Their report also indicated for March that 78% of the U.S. web audience viewed video online, averaging 97 videos per viewer during the month.

With these staggering numbers many more people are exploring how they can add online video to their marketing mix.  Why use video for marketing?  Because it's the next best thing to communicating face to face with potential clients and customers and building up trust.  It's also fantastic for driving traffic and can be done for virtually no cost.  Here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Get a Flip camcorder. A Flip is a pocket-size digital video recorder that's both easy to use and very affordable.  You simply point, record and then upload the video right to your computer via USB.  If you are just looking to get going with video, this is a great way to do it.  They even have HD versions of their cameras and the ability to personalize them with colors and designs.

2. Check out free screencasting software.  Not ready to put yourself in front of the camera yet?  You can still create videos starring your voice and your computer screen with these free services online.  Two I recommend and use are Screentoaster and Jing.  These are perfect for creating short tutorials for e-learning purposes that you can then upload to your blog or video sharing sites.  All you need is a microphone--I use the headset I have for Skype.

3. Get an account on YouTube, Viddler or Vimeo. These are video services where you can upload, enhance and share your videos for free.  YouTube is nice for creating your own channel on a page you design yourself.  Just grab the code they supply to embed video on your own webpage. Vimeo has a really attractive and streamlined player, and Viddler offers in-video tagging and commenting.  There are many other choices for video hosting, including Facebook.  Check out the different options and decide which one works best for you.

4. Direct viewers to your site. Don't forget to mention your website in the actual video at the beginning and end or add text displaying the URL.  You will also want to add your website in your profile as well as any place you are able to type in a description of the particular video.

Video can be a very extensive topic as well as intimidating for a lot of people.  I'm only recently beginning to experiment with it beyond the basics myself.  Start with these steps and don't think you need to create lengthy or fancy clips.  In fact, short, content-rich videos are your best bet. 

To start out, aim for 90 seconds to two minutes in length where you offer a few tips or teach people how to do something.  Minimize any background noise and make sure you have sufficient lighting in the room and you'll be ready to go!

 

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelm of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

5 Powerful WordPress Tutorial Resources

WordPress is one of the most popular blog/website platforms.  And although it's easy fairly easy to use, it can be confusing and sometimes overwhelming to a new user.

If you need help getting your blog off the ground or just fine-tuning it, click on the link below for some great resources:

http://blogenergizer.com/wpmain/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/download.php?id=128

How to Easily Create Stand-Out Social Networking Profiles

One of the most basic but most important pieces of your social networking presence is having an effective profile.  Not only is it a snapshot into who you are and what it is you do, it's usually the first impression others will have of you.  Here are some ways to make your profile work for you and get you noticed--without boring people to tears. :)

Use a real photo of yourself.  On certain sites you occasionally see people using their brand logo as their picture or avatar but I advise against this.  You want others to relate to you as a real person, especially if they are thinking of hiring or buying from you!  In most cases, that is something you just can't convey through a graphic. (Unless maybe you are Coca-Cola!)

By all means, use a professional photo if possible.  If not, you should choose one that is of you alone--with all due respect to your family and pets.  If you are using social sites to even remotely drum up business, you need to appear professional as far your main photo goes.

Location, location, location.  Include at the very least your state, province or town.  Even though it is the world wide web, you never know when local opportunities will pop up.  Make it easy for others to seek you out.

Have a well thought-out bio.  Your bio is what people will be looking to in order to get the essence of what you are all about.  You can include a succinct version of your "elevator pitch" here as long as you avoid sounding too sales-y.  When you read it back to yourself you should be able to get a feel for how it comes off.  Adjust accordingly.  Write it with an emphasis on how you provide value to others.  

Include all of your relevant links.  You want to give people an easy way to find out more about you.  Plus, there's no one who doesn't want more web traffic, right?  The amount of space you are allotted for this varies from site to site, but definitely include your website and/or blog as well as the profile URLs of any other social networking sites you are active on.

Use your full name if possible. Depending on the site, you may or may not have room to fit your whole name.  Also, if your name is common, it may have already been taken, such as on a site like Twitter.  In the case of my full name, I went with my first name and last initial on Twitter because they don't allow enough characters for both words to fit.   I am satisfied with that, however, because people are still able to associate it closely with my full name.

Personal tidbits are not a bad thing.  Don't be shy, there is a reason it's called social networking!  Some people are reticent about exposing anything about themselves outside of their business persona.  However, part of what draws others to you is your authentic self.  You may have a snazzy professional profile photo, but posting pictures here and there of your latest vacation won't do any harm.  In fact, it could be great for business.

Fill out your background completely.  Part of what helps others find you is the information that you fill out about your education, interests, past employment and groups and associations you belong to.  This is especially true on a site like Linked-In.  Keep your information up to date so that opportunities can easily find you.

The most important takeaway?   Ensure your presence is consistent across all networks.  This not only strengthens your personal brand, but helps to establish credibility as well.  Plus, to make it even easier on yourself, you can keep a document on your computer with all of your profile information.  That way you can just copy and paste it when needed. 

Now get out there and network! :)

 

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching solopreneurs and small business owners how to use online marketing and social media to communicate effectively and authentically and attract more business. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

PLR Secrets for Life Coaches, Speakers and Self-Help Webmasters

I came across this 50 page report (or e-book), about using Private Label Rights (PLR) for your business and/or blog.  It's packed full of many great tips that you can implement right away. 

The authors of this e-book have allowed me to give it away on my blog, so you can enjoy it, too.

Just click to download:

http://blogenergizer.com/wpmain/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/download.php?id=116

Quick Help To Find Your Way Through The E-book Writing Process

Writing an e-book is tough, the process is long and there are many decisions you have to make along the way.

But writing is just half the job. If you’re self-publishing, after you’re done writing, you have to promote and market it, too.

One of the best tools to use when working on a project as large as writing an e-book is a checklist. It helps you figure out what you should be doing, where you’re heading and how far along in the process you are.

Here’s a checklist I found, created by people who are experienced in e-book writing and marketing. They’ve allowed me to share it with you.

To download the checklist, click the following link:

http://blogenergizer.com/wpmain/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/download.php?id=129

You Drove Prospects to Your Site with Social Media--Now What?

By now, you know that being active on social media sites is a great way to drive traffic to your website or blog.  But what happens once those people have arrived at your site? 

You need to have a way to capture those prospects before they click away forever.  Having good content for them to enjoy once they land there is only one part of the equation.  You want to offer them a way to provide their email address so that you have permission to keep in touch and build an ongoing relationship with them.

Once you've captured their information, you then have a way to present any future events, offerings or opportunities to them.  But first you've got to hook them in!  Here are the keys to accomplishing that.

Have a sign-up form for them to input at least their first name and primary email address.  If you are using an email marketing service such as AWeber, Constant Contact or any other which provides autoresponders, you can easily create what is known as an "opt-in box" form and copy the code directly onto your website.  I personally use AWeber, and they provide instructions for creating the form as well as the HTML code.

Place the sign-up box in a prominent place.  Studies have shown that one of the most effective places to put the box is in the upper right-hand corner of the page "above the fold."  This simply means that you don't want to make the person have to scroll down to see your form.  When they visit your site you want their eyes to be drawn immediately to it.  A good idea is to have the box stand alone without any distracting images or text around it.

Make it very clear what visitors need to do. In this case, simpler is better.  The less choices people are given, the more likely they are to sign up.  Describe what it is they get for giving you their information, have a place for their name and email address, a blurb on your privacy policy and a submit button.  

Give an incentive for signing up with you.  These days, people are bombarded with information and offers online.  You need to have a compelling reason for people to hand over their information.  In exchange for doing so, give them some type of freebie--a special report, an e-course, an audio file or something else that will appeal to them.  Keep in mind that this offering does not have to be incredibly comprehensive.  You can still put together something of value without it taking you more than a couple of hours to create.

Offer the ability to sign up on every page of your site. Because you never know from which page people will enter your website or blog, be sure to place your form not only on the home page, but each page that makes up your site.
Now, when you drive all of that social media traffic that's hungry for more of what you offer, you have a way to continually keep in contact with them.  They've decided to come and check you out--don't leave them without a clear next step!

 

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelm of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

7 Indications it Might Be Time to "Fire" a Client

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Tracy_Collins]Tracy Collins

As a small business owner, we want to be successful and in order to do that we have to work with several different people with several different personalities. For the most part, the clients that we have are great clients but there may be times when we start to rethink our compatibility and wonder if it's time to "fire" that client. How do we know if we are just overreacting or if we have legitimate concerns?

The Unresponsive Client - This has to be one of my biggest pet peeves with clients. A client who hires you do to some work for them but will not get back to you when you have questions or concerns for days, maybe even weeks. If this is a continued pattern, you may want to rethink your relationship with this client or you may be spending your time chasing this client down.

The Procrastinator - Here we have a client who gives you all the details of what they want completed and you're ready to work but you need some files from them. They tell you they will send it to you later today. It's now tomorrow and still no files. You contact them and they promise they will send it to you today. Still nothing and the cycle goes on and on and on. Finally three weeks later, you get the files you have been waiting for and the client says they need this project completed tomorrow. Which brings me to the next indication.

The Gotta Have It Now Client - This is a client who calls you up at the absolute last minute and says I have this project that I need completed but it has to be done by the end of business day today. Once in awhile is just fine but when you have a client who is frequently doing this, you may want to rethink your relationship with them. Now I am always a huge advocate for good customer service but for somebody who is continually expecting you to drop everything to work on their project is not a great client to have on board. You have to think, is the unhappiness of my other clients really worth the happiness of this one client?

The Needy Client - Here is a client that is very responsive to your requests, doesn't procrastinate, and gives you plenty of time to complete a project. It's the type of client everybody hopes for except, they call you all hours of the day and night, won't make a simple decision without input from you, call you every day first thing in the morning and are the last call you receive before you go to bed at night. This client quickly gets on your nerves and you realize it is taking up a ton of your time and you get no break whatsoever.

The Never Happy/Unaccountable Client - Here is a client that no matter what you do they are never happy with the outcome and if you try to explain to them and show them that it is exactly what they requested, they find a way to blame you instead of taking the blame themselves. This is a client who will stress you out until there is no end in sight. Also this client will have a specific way of wanting something done. You offer suggestions on how to make it better, and they argue with you because they are set in their ways. Once the project is complete they don't like it and you end up doing it the way you suggested in the first place.

The Haggling Client - This client is constantly haggling you over price once the project is complete. You gave them a quote and you are at or below the quote you gave them and they are still trying to get you to give them discounts. This client will take anything they can get.

The Vague Client - This client gives you the vaguest of information and that's it, no more input. You ask for clarification and the client just repeats what he already said so you do what you can with the information he gives you and it turns out to be nothing like what he expected and because of your guarantee you have to redo it for him, costing you precious time and money.

The last thing business owners want to do is "fire" a client but unfortunately, sometimes it has to be done. When we start to wonder whether that client is really worth all the hassle that goes into working with them, it's more than likely the time to let him go. If you continue to work with that client and they continue to take every ounce of your being, you will no longer love what you do, and after all, isn't that why we start businesses, because we love what we do?



Tracy Collins, Confidential Virtual Assistant, owns/operates Collins-Admin Services, http://www.collins-admin.com a virtual assistance company. Offering confidential virtual administrative support services to entrepreneurs/small business owners who feel they need higher than average confidential assistance. For more great articles about business and confidential virtual assistance visit her blog at http://www.collins-admin.com/blog

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tracy_Collins http://EzineArticles.com/?7-Indications-it-Might-Be-Time-to-Fire-a-Client&id=2167756

Work Smarter With These Time-Saving Twitter Tools

You have probably noticed that Twitter is more popular than ever.  As small business owners and solopreneurs we know how beneficial social media can be but are often overwhelmed at the thought of managing it all.

If you are looking to take advantage of Twitter in your business without it taking over your life, here are some great "shortcut" tools and applications to keep you in the social media game without sacrificing all of your precious time! 

Tweetdeck: A desktop client that allows you to manage all of your Twitter activity without being logged on to the web.  This is very popular due to its ability to organize your followers into groups. Tweetdeck has also recently added the ability to update your Facebook status from the interface as well chat with your Facebook friends.

Twellow: The Twitter yellow pages! Find Twitter users by category or geographic area.  This is a good way to find new and interesting people to follow.

Tweetie/Twitterberry: For those of you looking for ways to tweet on the go, I prefer Tweetie for iPhone.  I have also heard good things about Twitterberry, which is for the Blackberry.

GroupTweet: Group message broadcasting for Twitter.  This tool gives you the ability to send private tweets to only a select group of followers which you choose.  I've seen this used successfully for everything from web development projects and school assignments to diet and exercise accountability clubs.

Monitter:  This is one of my favorite tools.  It lets you monitor Twitter for a set of keywords and see what people are saying.

Twitterfox: If you use the Firefox browser, this is a nice extension which notifies you when your friends update their status on Twitter.

TwitThis: A way for people to send Twitter messages about blog posts or websites. When you click on the TwitThis button or link, it takes the URL of the webpage and creates a shortened URL. You can then send the shortened URL and a description of the page to others on Twitter.  I love using this to quickly share the URLs of interesting articles or posts I come across while browsing the web.

Hashtags.org: Hashtags bring some order to the updates of Twitter users.  For example, a couple of years back the hashtag #sandiegofires was used in order for those interested to easily follow this topic. Hashtags.org provides real-time tracking of all the hashtags being used on Twitter.

WhoShouldIFollow: This is a very simple tool which looks at your current friend list and recommends others to follow based on that list.  One of the Twitter questions I am asked most often is how to find more people to follow.  This makes it quick and easy to do.

TweetBeep: If you want to know when someone mentions your name, company, product or competitors you can get updates sent to you to stay on top of it all.

Twitterfeed: Allows you to quickly tweet your blog posts.  Just sign up and enter your blog feed and Twitter login information.  When you publish a blog post, it will be sent to Twitter automatically.

These are some of my top picks--there are too many tools out there to even begin to mention them all. However, I recommend getting started with some of these and keeping an eye out for any others you think would help streamline your Twitter experience and save you time.  (You'll never have a shortage--there are new applications arriving on the scene every day!)

 

 

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching solopreneurs and small business owners how to use online marketing and social media to communicate effectively and authentically and attract more business. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

$50 Spa Treatments This Week!

I had no idea that April 13th - 19th was SPA WEEK!

This information was too good not to pass on to my bloggy friends!

Please go to "Miss Bargainista's" Blog and check out all the info!

I'm definitely going to try to schedule one in this week!

Beginner's Guide to Building Traffic with Feedburner

Are you confused about how to use FeedBurner to your advantage? Check out this 22 page report chocked full of tips as well as screenshots to help you.

Right click and Save as to download -> Beginner’s Guide to Using and Building Traffic with FeedBurner (123)

Reach Your Target Market and Be Seen as an Expert with Linkedin

Author:  Christine Gallagher

I have had a profile on Linkedin for a while now, but as with my MySpace account, I let it languish for a long time.  I wasn't seeing Linkedin as a place to make connections and find others in my niche.  It also seemed heavily corporate, with people looking for jobs more so than small business services or products.  

Originally, serving that more corporate-type population was why Linkedin was established.  However, I have recently noticed more activity among small business owners, entrepreneurs and solopreneurs.  While Facebook offers a more personal snapshot of a person, Linkedin has really become a good place to create beneficial professional relationships as well as be found by potential clients and customers. 

If you are interested in finding out how to use Linkedin to help grow your business and boost your visibility, here are a few ways to use this social network to do so:

Do a search for people in targeted fields and positions. Send them a request to join your network and be sure to personalize your message.

Create a thorough profile with your photo, websites and title.  It is a good idea to include past experience, positions and education as well--the more information you supply, the more ways you allow others to find and connect to you.

Answer questions posed by other members in your community that fall into your area of expertise. "Linkedin Answers" provides a place for you to view open questions that you may respond to.  This is a wonderful way to promote your specific knowledge.

Ask for recommendations of your work and offer to provide them for others.  The glowing recommendations you receive will be posted right to your profile.

Develop a targeted group of contacts in your niche and start connecting each other. Try to help others expand their own networks.

Look through your contacts' networks. Select a few people each month you think would be good to know and request that your contacts introduce them to you.

As with Facebook, Linkedin offers a way to feed your blog posts right into your profile.  Add an application called BlogLink--this supports blogging platforms such as TypePad, Wordpress.com, Wordpress.org, Blogger and more.

Invite people in your network to ask others in their networks to a discussion group or an on-line networking event.

A great tip for increasing your search engine ranking with your website listing: when you go to type in your web address for your profile, you will have several choices in the drop down menu.  If you choose "other" you have the option to type in any text you'd like which will then link to your site.  Choose the keywords that you think would best get you found when someone searches in the search engines and voila, instant search engine optimization! (Linkedin is ranked very highly in Google.)

Get some publicity.  Many members of the media as well as some of the top bloggers have profiles on Linkedin.  Why not reach out to them and connect?  You never know where the relationship will lead.  Of course, don't spam them.  Send a polite and personalized message and you will have a spot on their radar.

Finally, don't forget to add a link to your profile in your email signature.  The great thing is that Linkedin allows you to customize the link to your public profile to include your name.  For example, my link is http://www.linkedin.com/in/christinesgallagher. You should always include your social networking profiles in your signature so that every time you send an email, others have a way to connect.

As you know by now, connection is what it's all about!

 

 

© 2009 Communicate Value. All Rights Reserved.

Christine Gallagher, The Online Marketing and Social Media Success Coach, is founder of Communicate Value, where she is dedicated to teaching solopreneurs and small business owners how to use online marketing and social media to communicate effectively and authentically and attract more business. To get your F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and receive her weekly marketing & success articles on leveraging technology, building relationships and boosting your profits, visit http://communicatevalue.com.

Why You Need A Virtual Assistant

This article explains it all!

Can’t Keep Up With You Work? Virtual Assistant is What You Need!

Author: On Demand Virtual Assistant

 

If you do not have any idea with what Virtual Assistant is, you do not have to worry. About a year ago, I came across with the term myself. It sounded like a hi-tech job that I’d know something about until I tripped across a little information and I found out that Virtual Assistant is what I am! That’s not all, it came to my mind that small businesses were absent on the chance to improve their effectiveness by abandoning the vast talent with ease that is available online.

Virtual Assistant: what is it?

In the mid 90’s, the term Virtual Assistant started. VA’s are really like telecommuters, more often than not, performing administrative duty for businesses and working in their own houses instead of the place of work they provide the services for.

Using a VA can be a cheap alternative to hiring staff. Bills are changeable and frequently range from 15 dollars to 100 dollars per hour depending on the specialty or work. For small kinds of businesses, even a solely owned business, a Virtual Assistant can dramatically make your work load easily at a very reasonable price.
VA’s provide required skills like proofreading, website design, data management, bookkeeping, writing and a lot more. Some experts work with medical fields or real estate. Others are in charge of the day-to-day duties or help you with projects.

How would I know which Virtual Assistant to choose?

There are some associations like the International Virtual Assistants or IVAA which provide the names of the people who are screened for Virtual Assistants. One more way to find a good VA is by tittle-tattle. As with some freelance work, it would be wise to set up if the worker is well-organized and responsible as you can’t always follow up personally.

All VA’s should have a policy of privacy if they’re not an associate. This will only show that they do understand that the business information of yours is very confidential and willing to take moves to guarantee your privacy.

Finding a VA that you feel at ease with can lead to a bond that will give you the freedom to pass coursework over without the necessity to re-train them about your business. A personal VA will eventually learn your business by making projects, and apply that understanding to all of your coursework.

I have had a great delight in having the wisdom how being a VA can help small kinds of businesses in taking care of their duties. It is a satisfying experience to meet new people, to develop relationships with customers all over the globe that can definitely count on me, and to be exposed to some business that are run online. Think about what hiring a VA for your business can do for your business and yourself.

About the Author:

"Written by OnDemandVA.com , the best place to hire a virtual assistant. OnDemandVA.com is the global leader in providing Virtual Assistant Services to busy professionals and SMB. Visit www.ondemandva.com and Hire your Virtual Assistant straight away at the price which no one in the industry can touch.

www.ondemandva.com
Skype - ondemandva
Email - Sales@ondemandva.com"