May 16, 2012
Have you seen the new Facebook? Timeline has completed changed not only how Facebook pages look but how they function as a marketing tool for the small business.
These changes are CRUCIAL to successful facebook marketing and we don’t want you to get left in the dark. That’s why we decided to hold a special webinar to get you up to date!
In this completely FREE, one hour video you’ll learn:
- All about the new “timeline” and how will it affect your business
- How to completely separate your business life from your personal life on Facebook (finally!)
- The very unfriendly change that Facebook has made, and how to get around it
- How to customize Facebook into a “mini site” for your business, and why it’s more important than ever
You’ll also learn more about our in-depth program Zero to Facebook.
Thursday, May 24 at 1pm PST / 4pm EST / 9pm GMT
May 15, 2012
Ever wonder why some of your Facebook friends have those fancy schmancy Facebook URL’s with their name or company name after www.facebook.com? While you got stuck with that booooring (and not useful!) gibberish in your Facebook URL?
Creating a custom Facebook URL, or handle, is essential to create and maintain an attractive Facebook and maximize your social networking strategy. Remember, you wouldn’t want something with crazy coding on your business card when you can easily have something short, clean and relevant.
How?
1. Log in to Facebook and go to the link http://facebook.com/username.
2. Type in your desired username and check availability.
Make sure the handle that you choose is something short, effective for your business (business name) and something that will still be relevant in the future. You CANNOT change your username in the future so choose wisely!
Why use a custom URL?
- It looks cleaner than code gibberish
- Easy for people to remember
- Great for search engines
- Adds another aspect of branding to your Page
Adding a Facebook username is one of the many simple yet super important tasks to remember when trying to market yourself and your business. Remember, choose something that would like nice on a business card and everywhere else for you to promote!
May 14, 2012
Guest post by Laura Simms
I’m sure you’ve heard the clarion call from the blogging bigwigs: make use of video on your website. Not only is the potential for traffic tremendous thanks to YouTube being the second most visited site on the web, but it’s a great way to connect with your audience.
Just one problem: most people aren’t comfortable with the technology or performance aspects of marketing with video.
More and more the technology concerns are being alleviated because cameras are pretty standard on new computers and editing software is more accessible and user-friendly than ever.
The truth is, you don’t need fancy equipment to create compelling videos; you just need to offer valuable content and authentically connect with your audience.
Before I started working with creative entrepreneurs, I spent 10 years as a professional actor. This is where I learned to love the camera, and to let it love up on me. But you don’t have to be an actor to apply effective acting techniques to your marketing videos.
In the video below, I’ll share my 3 favorite tips you can start using today to connect with your audience and boost your on-camera confidence.
Do you have a favorite “comfortable with the camera” tip? Share it in the comments below.
A biz illuminatrix who hears between the lines, Laura Simms helps creative entrepreneurs discover their unique value & communicate that in a fun & profitable way. Think clarity + service + style = cash. She’s the author of Roadmap to Action, the guide that’s helped hundreds of creatives learn to work smarter. Laura vlogs weekly from her bird’s egg blue chair at createasfolk.com.
May 11, 2012
Guest post by Heidi DeCoux
Most of us have an overwhelming amount of things to do and handle each day.
Here’s a 3-step process for prioritizing and eliminating the feelings of dread and overwhelm.
Step #1: Do a brain-dump.
Eben Pagan calls this “Clearing Your Mental Desk.” If you get everything out of your head and onto paper, then you can prioritize it all and stop wasting mental energy worrying about it. A brain dump to paper also allows you to see that your “never-ending to-do list” is actually finite.
Find a quiet space and sit down with either a notepad or your computer. Write out every single thing there is to do and handle in your life including personal and family responsibilities. Keep writing until you can’t think of anything else.
Step #2: Define what’s important to you.
Write down 2-3 main goals or priorities in each area of your life. The areas of your life may include: Health, Family, Spirituality, Career, etc. Post your goals in a place where you will see them often.
Ask yourself, is this task or opportunity in alignment with my priorities?
Before adding anything to your to-do list or taking on any new opportunities, look at your goals and priorities sheet. Ask yourself, is this task or opportunity in alignment with my priorities? Will it move me closer to my goals? If not, don’t add the item to your to-do list or take on the new opportunity.
Build your to-do list around your priorities and goals. Take on new opportunities only if they are in alignment with your priorities and goals.
When you are crystal clear on your priorities and goals, it becomes easy to say “no,” or “not yet.”
Step #3: Take action!
Now that you have whittled your to-do list down to the important, high-impact items, it’s time to get things done!
What can you eliminate or delegate so that you can focus on the “to-do’s” that will have big impact on your life?
Every day, before you close up shop, choose 3-5 high-priority items that you commit to getting done the next day. Select the ones that will have the biggest impact on your life – the ones that will move you toward meeting your goals the fastest. It’s easy to get bogged down in minutia that makes very little impact on our lives. What can you eliminate or delegate so that you can focus on the “to-do’s” that will have big impact on your life?
By choosing a relatively small number of priorities for the day, between 3 to 5, you are more likely to actually get them all done, and you will have enough time and energy to do a good job. If you have time afterward, you can always take on more.
Imagine what you would accomplish this year if you get five, high-impact items done every day, six days a week.
BONUS: Schedule opportunities for accomplishment
This step can turn overwhelm into happiness… if you let it.
When you take on a new project, outline the steps and estimate the time it will take you to complete each step. Then, schedule WHEN you will complete each step. Put it in your calendar as if it’s a meeting – because it is! It’s a meeting with yourself to work on that project.
Schedule the time as an opportunity for you to have an impact on your life in an area of your life that matters to you! Use words that affirm your commitment. For example:
- Work: “[From 2pm to 3pm,] I conquer my email inbox!”
- Family: “[From 7pm to 8pm,] I nurture my children through bedtime stories.”
- Spirituality: “[From 7am to 8am,] I reconnect with the source of joy and happiness in meditation.”
Scheduling will ensure that you get the project done on time, and it will prevent you from over-scheduling. If your calendar is a big open canvas, then you’ll probably find yourself forgetting your commitments.
Heidi DeCoux provides small business owners with the tools and assistance they need to be highly productive, super organized, and wildly profitable while pursuing their passions.
Want to know more? Grab a FREE copy of: “The 7 Habits of Productive, Organized & Highly Profitable Small-Business Owners” and get your hands on some other cool freebies, now at: www.ClearSimpleMarketing.com
May 8, 2012
Many small business owners make the mistake of using their personal facebook profile to connect with clients and customers. But profiles have a strict limit of 5,000 friends, putting a hard stop on marketing.
Creating a Facebook Page for your business is a much easier way to deal with that “uh-oh” moment as well as tracking your marketing efforts.
Why Separate My Personal Profile From My Page?
- Because Facebook says so! Part of Facebook’s Terms of Service require that profiles must represent individuals, rather an an organization, business, etc.
- Facebook Pages lets you use Insights which allows you to see how your “likers” engage with your content so you can better focus on your marketing efforts. With your personal profile, there isn’t a way to do this.
- Using Pages lets you have unlimited “likers”. With a normal profile, friends are capped at 5,000.
- Pages allow you to create custom apps on your pages which which you can use for lead generation, selling your products, etc.
You can switch back and forth super easily between your personal profile and Page.
From your personal profile, simply click on the upper right corner arrow, and there will be a dropbox which gives you the option “Use Facebook as”
If starting from your Page and want to go to your personal profile, the procedure is exactly the same!
Basically, anything you do while using Facebook as your Page will appear on Facebook as coming from your Page and vice versa. For example, when using your personal profile and you have a friend request, this notification now shows your most recent “likes”. Also, the notifications icon shows new activity that is going on on your Page.
Wondering how to tell the difference on whether someone is using their profile or Page? For a personal profile you would send a friend request while for a Page, you “like” it.
What do you love or hate about separating your personal profile from your Page? Share in the comments below.
May 3, 2012
Guest post by Kerry Tepedino
My health coaching clients always ask me what they should be eating for maximum energy. What foods will help them stay focused and on track so they can take their business and lives to the next level?
These days you need to be on top of your game and learning which foods act like jet fuel in your system can help keep you there. It is important to get that energy pumping through your system to stay at the top!
So what should you be focusing on when it comes down to mastering the art of food selection for optimal performance? And does knowing WHEN to eat make a difference or is it not really a big deal? Hold tight for I am going to break it all down for you to wipe your slate clean of all confusion.
A very important practice to put into place is making sure that you are getting protein in your system about every three hours. The reason for this is to ensure your blood sugar levels are stable, sidestepping the crash and burn cycle, as well as the 4 o’clock slump.
This doesn’t mean you eat a rib-eye steak every three hours. Your portion sizes need to be moderate so that you are able to digest the food quickly and use it as fuel. Combining your protein with a low-glycemic fruit or a vegetable makes for a great meal or snack.
5 Power Packed Foods For Energy Optimization
1) Raw Nuts: Almonds, cashews, and hazelnuts are great snacks to boost your energy and help keep it there. They are full of magnesium and help you convert sugars into energy. Combine a handful with half a granny smith apple or some berries for a quick boost.
2) Seeds: Seeds are very similar to nuts in how they give you an energy boost and they help you fight fatigue. They are full of proteins, omega 3s, iron, and vitamin B. A great and easy snack is to combine raw seeds, nuts, goji berries, and raw cacao nibs to make a anti-oxidant trail mix.
3) Lean Meats: Organic lean meats such as turkey, fish, chicken, and grass-fed beef are great sources of protein and have amino acids that support your brain function. They also contain B12, which is known to fight depression and help with insomnia. A simple snack is to make turkey roll-ups with lettuce and tomatoes.
4) Free-Range Eggs: Eggs are a great way to get your protein and very easy to travel with when hard-boiled. They contain zinc, chromium, and phosphorus. Carry a bit of sea salt in a bag to easily pep up your flavor.
5) Dark Leafy Greens: Dark leafy greens are power-punched with high amounts of vitamin A, C, K, all the B vitamins, iron, and magnesium. They will supply you with high amounts of energy quickly and keep you on track so you can continue to focus on your projects. Make a large green salad with lots of colorful vegetables and keep it in the fridge. You can easily eat off of it for a few days.
Give these simple suggestions a shot for the next few weeks and you will notice improvements in your energy, focus, productivity and accomplishments. We are only scratching the surface here… there are so many other tricks that are simple to implement that will make a significant impact on your personal and professional life.
Kerry Tepedino is an internationally trained Holistic Health Practitioner and Nutritionist. Having grown a successful private practice over the past ten years, she has expanded her work to a global market by creating the You-Defining-You Coaching Programs, as well as Seven Weeks To Wellness, a holistic approach to weight loss, vibrant energy, and stress reduction.
Having worked one-to-one with thousands of clients, Kerry is excited to take all of this valuable research and help as many people as possible through coaching programs, online home study products, books, and speaking.
Make sure to grab your free gift at http://www.kerrytepedino.com and http://www.seven-weeks-to-wellness.com.
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May 1, 2012
Facebook Timeline is hereeee! As Facebook comes out with its latest timeline design, a new cover photo feature emerges too. Along with your profile picture, you can now choose a photo to further represent you and your business.
How Do I Upload a Cover Photo?
If this is your first time creating a Facebook page, on the main top right side, click “Add a Cover” and from there you will simply be given the option to upload a photo.
If changing or updating your photo, simply hover your mouse of the cover photo and from there you can choose photos to upload, choose from existing photos, reposition the picture or remove it completely.
What Type of Photo?
Just like your profile picture, it’s important to choose something that represents your business. According to Facebook, there are a few “no-no’s” such as including price/purchase information, contact information (these should go in “About” section”), “like” or “share” buttons, or callouts such as “Get it now”.
Here at LKR for our Dash Community photos, we choose a photo of the team along with a slogan. This photo shows the personality of the business while staying professional.
Tips for Choosing a Photo
- Don’t make it something boooring! This photo is the first and largest photo your audience will see. Make it stand out.
- Photo of you at a networking event or on stage
- You in your work setting in action
- At a retreat or event with a leader in the industry
Maximize your social media efforts with this easy-to-implement tip. After all, you’ve got a business to run!
April 30, 2012
Guest post by Lisa Cash Hanson
Eleanor Roosevelt once said “You wouldn’t worry so much about what other people thought if you realized how seldom they do.”
As entrepreneurs, one of our main business goals should be to achieve high levels of success and hopefully be presented with amazing opportunities along the way. My blog, Mompreneur Mogul, recently had one of those opportunities. I was featured on Yahoo! with 40 million viewers. My traffic shot through the roof and so did my newsletter subscription. While it was an amazing ride, it didn’t come without adversity.
I started to get some pretty negative comments almost immediately and I realized in that moment that as your business grows, not everyone will be happy for you. Criticism is sadly something that usually comes along with success. When you find yourself in that situation, here are some quick tips to help you overcome the negative people and their attacks. Don’t just overcome these attacks but thrive in the midst of them.
Don’t read the reviews or nasty comments.
There’s a huge difference between constructive criticism and useless, nasty comments. Don’t waste your time looking at those. It won’t help your business and it will only leave you feeling deflated.
Realize that not everyone will like you or your business.
No matter how brilliant, how successful, or how rich you and your business become, some people won’t like you no matter what you do. Just accept that and move on.
Keep the pain factor in mind.
The people who rip you to shreds are not just “haters” they are “hurters”. Something in their life must be terribly wrong that they want to rip a total stranger to pieces. Remember they are hurting and then their words won’t sting quite so much.
Do not respond.
This is probably one of the hardest tip, yet the most important. When I read some of the things they said about me, my family and my appearance, I was pretty upset. One person even talked badly about the name I chose for my daughter. However, writing them wouldn’t change a thing. Any second you waste in that negative energy space is a valuable second lost on more productive tasks for your business. Refuse to allow yourself to get pulled into the negative riptide.
Don’t rehash.
If you do happen to see something negative the worst thing you can do is to think on that over and over. The more you do the deeper the root will go. Soon you’ll either be totally livid or you’ll start believing it so just don’t even go there. Thus the reason to not read it in the first place.
Surround yourself with the opposite.
Nothing beats 1200 negative comments ( yes that’s how many probably a few more by now) then some great friends who are ready to lift you up. If you are in the heat of a harsh critique find a few good friends who really love you. You’ll feel better in no time. That’s why it’s wonderful to have some good friends.
Take A Break
Nothing removes negative energy better than some great fun. Grab those uplifting friends and go to your favorite sports game, hang out at the coffee house or whatever you want to do but just go have fun you’ll notice you will start to feel better immediately.
Understand that no one but you controls the course of your business, your life, and your destiny.
When you realize that no amount of criticism from another person can truly stop you from succeeding it makes it a little easier to handle.
Even the most successful people have to overcome critics. If the Beatles would’ve listened to Decca Records who not only turned them down but told them “guitar groups are on the way out”, we wouldn’t have been graced with such talent.
No matter what stage you may be in with your blog, your business, or in your life, keep on pressing on, ignore negative people, surround yourself with dreamers and people filled with vision. Keep your own mind filled with vision also and you will go very far.
Lisa Cash Hanson is the author of the hottest selling eBook “Get Famous The Most Amazing Bloggers Resource On The Planet”. Recently featured on Yahoo! Shine and viewed by over one million people and nominated Circle of Moms Top 25 Mom Tech Blog. She’s the founder of Mompreneur Mogul teaching women how to blog their way to a brighter future. Her weekly Newsletter is packed with tips for those wanting to make money blogging and get media attention for their blogs.
April 24, 2012
You’ve got your
Pinterest site set-up, learned that
service businesses can utilize Pinterest, got some hot
SEO tips and even brushed up on your social media networking
etiquette.Let’s wrap up our Ultimate Guide to Pinterest and get some followers.
Show Off Your Brand
People need to know about your company and be exposed to who you are as well as what you offer. Your username should be the same as your company name as well as your gravatar should be your businesses’ logo.
Follow Others on Pinterest
Find some fun Pinterest users that are posting great content and get your Pinterest party started.
Follow these people as well as those that have similar interests as you by using the Pinterest search.
Follow other companies or professionals that are related to what you do.
Interaction
Just like we talked about in the etiquette for Pinterest guide, it’s important to interact with others by commenting on others pins, repinning others images just as it’s important to provide your own quality pins and content.
Content
Be true to yourself and your brand. Pin and comment on a variety of quality images.
Think of the time you are actively spending on Pinterest as adding more content as exposing your business.
Repinning images, making comments and all interactions increase the chance to get followers.
There is a line between producing and sharing awesome content and spamming. Interact, have fun and your profile will get seen. It’s as simple as if people like what you pin, people will follow you.
Practice Consistency
Pin regularly. Just like any other social media network, posting and showing your presence is key to getting more friends or followers.
Tip: Just like any other social media site, DON’T SPEND ALL DAY ON PINTEREST. Spend 10-20 minutes a day.
This way, you are showing your presence and staying active but it isn’t taking away from all of the important things you have to take care of in your business.
Sync with Other Social Websites
For maximum exposure, link your accounts and get your name and brand out there all across the web.
Whether you sign up for Pinterest or if you have an established account, you have the option to sync your Pinterest account with other social websites.
Right now – go to settings to configure your sync settings – you can turn off them off, choose only one account to sync, or both.
Add the Pinterest Profile Link to Your Website
Make it easy for people to pin your images by using a Pinterest follow button on your website.
Don’t forget to make sure you have quality images on your site so people will want to repin. Add the Pinterest follow button to your site by grabbing the embed code here.
Now that you’ve got more followers, go back and review how Pinterest is not only for product-based businesses, learn how to boost your Pinterest SEO and get some tips for proper etiquette on the social networking site.
This wraps up LKR’s Ultimate Guide to Pinterest for now. Check back for more tips on this hot, new social network.
April 23, 2012
Guest post by Niall Doherty
The bigger your blog gets, the less time you can afford to spend sweating the small stuff. Luckily, there are a bunch of free WordPress plugins out there that will happily sweat the small stuff for you. Get these bad boys up and running, then let automation work its magic.
Looking to outsource the writing of your blog posts? Rather than have contributors email you content, then going to the trouble of transferring each one to WordPress, simply set them up with contributor accounts and install this notifier plugin. They’ll be able to log in, write their posts within the WP interface, and submit them for review once complete.
The notifier plugin ensures you get an email whenever a post is awaiting review. Then it’s just a matter of clicking through, checking the copy, and hitting the publish button. For extra automation brownie points, you can have the emails sent to an assistant to review and approve posts for you.
If you need help setting everything up as described above, here’s a handy how-to screencast.
I tried an experiment last year on my personal blog where I scheduled just one archived post to be tweeted out every night while I slept. The result was 10% more traffic per month. I was scheduling those posts manually, but with the Tweet Old Post plugin you can automate the whole thing.
I especially like that you can exclude certain posts from being tweeted out, so any duds you might have in your archive aren’t destined to fall flat a second time. Just be sure not to go overboard with this plugin and tweet out links to your blog every fifteen minutes.
A handy plugin for following up with new commenters via email. Create a custom message and set it to send a day or two after someone comments on your blog. By default, your automated message will only be sent once per email address, ensuring you won’t annoy your most outspoken fans. The follow-up emails also provide a nice opportunity to offer folks a free gift or entice them back with links to popular posts.
If you’re posting regular content to YouTube, use this plugin to get your latest video showing up on your blog automatically, and look all the fresher for it. The plugin works well right out of the box, but you also get a bunch of handy configuration options. Use the autoplay feature wisely!
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to have regular, automated backups of your WordPress blog. There are countless backup plugins out there for WordPress, and I’ve tried many of them. Backup to Dropbox is by far my favorite because it automatically backs up both your database and your files to a secure location (Dropbox) complete with version control. And it’s free!
The plugin is pretty straight-forward to set up, but follow this tutorial if needed. What usually proves trickier is restoring your blog from a backup should the worst happen. Bookmark this screencast for just such an occasion.
I expect you already know that a sitemap makes it easier for search engines to crawl and index your blog, but the hidden bonus of this particular plugin is that it automatically notifies Google, Bing and Ask.com whenever the content of your blog changes, thus getting your latest and greatest content indexed quick-smart.
Simple and effective. You’ll never have to worry about broken links again with this plugin, which emails you whenever it finds one pointing towards the abyss. Broken Link Checker also has just the right amount of configuration options for those who like to tweak. Besides checking links in your posts and pages, it will even scour your comments and blogroll, and also check that your YouTube videos are embedded right.
This plugin requires a little jumping through Twitter API hoops to get it all set up, but it’s worth it. It provides a space below the WordPress post editor for you to craft your tweet, so you don’t have to settle for the plain old title + link tweets that you see everyone else pushing out automatically. Like the best automation tools, this one helps hide the fact that you’re automating.
This is pretty much the same as WP to Twitter, but for Facebook. Simple, automated links pushed to your Facebook page or profile can be a thing of the past, as this plugin gives you complete control over how your update will appear. Schedule it along with your next blog post, then kick back and relax.
(By the way, if you’re looking for an equivalent plugin for LinkedIn or Google+, note that the latter doesn’t exist yet, and the only way to get your posts feeding through to the former is to use the profile applications they provide.)
Niall Doherty travels around the world without flying while creating professional-grade WordPress blogs for fellow rabble-rousers. He’ll handle all the technical stuff and get you up and running within 72 hours. Learn more at http://50dollarblogs.net
