Tuesday, September 29, 2009

75% Doing, 25% Learning

I try to apply this principle to my business because it's awfully easy for me to get caught up in all the 'new' things I can learn, and never apply them or put them into action!

I take one day out of each week and I've deemed it my Business Development Day. I set all other things aside and I focus on learning something I need to know to move forward. Then during the other days, in addition to my other projects, I put it into action or at least I take one baby step toward my goal or the end result I want.

I don't know if you're like me, but here's what happens when I attempt to move my business to a new level: I get overwhelmed by how large the task is, suddenly all kinds of distractions get in my way, I get an uneasy feeling because I'm usually stepping out of my comfort zone, etc., etc. The result - NOTHING! It creates inaction in me and I dawdle with it forever and can't seem to get started . My Business Development day allows me to get out of my own way.

Here's something else I learned by setting this time aside. Often, I'll revisit materials/books I have, and lo and behold, I've seen things I didn't see the first time. It doesn't hurt to go back to some resources you think you may have learned all you can from. What I found is that different things jumped out at me because I'm in a different place now than I was then.

The latest epiphany from my most recent business development day - deal with or handle your business AS IT IS, not how you think it should be. OMG - light bulb moment for me. My tasks will take MUCH less effort this way! This can apply personally as well as professionally. I can't tell you how many times (as a woman and a mother and a former people-pleaser), that I approached things as I thought they should be rather than how they really were. I'm pumped about how much more productive I'm going to be. :-)

Have a great week! Paula

Friday, September 25, 2009

Be Wary of Free Internet Marketing Courses

I received *FREE* tickets to a local "Internet Marketing" conference in the mail recently. Please be very careful about such offerings as they are usually scams, or at the very least, nothing but pitch fests to try and get you to buy their products.

Here's some clues that this is probably NOT worth your time:
  • They are giving away a TON of free stuff in the hopes that you'll buy something.
  • They give you free tickets including a meal (again, so you'll buy something).
  • They don't tell you any REAL information, you'd have to buy what they're selling to find out the real gems.
  • If they are resorting to this kind of publicity, they must be hard up for sales. Why would a company from Orem, UT need to pull names from our local phone book and do a mass mailing to get customers?
Yes, there are ways to earn a part-time or maybe even a full-time income online. But I would be cautious about these "seminars". You'd be better off learning from a reputable, trustworthy source instead.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Why Your Business Needs to Engage in Social Media

Social media can get you noticed when SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can't. Businesses that don't have a Web site are mostly invisible. Today, almost everyone has a Web site, but new sites are not found on the Internet without a little help; social media can give you that help early. It can give you an immediate boost, while continuing to optimize for the search engines will help for the long haul.

Figure out which social media is right for your market and start gaining visibility now! Here are a few of the most popular social sites as of this writing:

FaceBook (personal and business)
LinkedIn (business)
Twitter (microblogging; personal and business)
MySpace (personal or business)



Tuesday, September 22, 2009

A Simple Way to Innovate and Differentiate

I LOVE this! John Jantsch of Ducttape Marketing writes about a cool concept a pizzeria in California is using to great success. See if you can find something you can simplify to differentiate your business, and create a buzz! Read the whole article on John's blog.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Google Reader adds “Send To” feature


Matt Cutts tells about a new feature for those of you that use Google Reader where you can send items directly to Twitter, Blogger, FaceBook, and a bunch of other places New Google Reader feature - see the information below for how to add this handy feature. That's how I blogged this! Really easy.

Google Reader 'Send To' feature


To enable it, click on “Settings” in Google Reader and then click on the “Send To” tab to choose which services to add. Note: make sure you disable pop-up blocking so that Google Reader can pop-up a new window on twitter.com (or wherever) to share your item. You can even add custom services:


Adding a custom link


Suppose I subscribed to a bunch of different blogs, or subscribed to the Twitter feeds of a bunch of people. I could make a custom link that sent individual items to (say) a custom web service that I wrote. For example, any time I saw someone report a Google bug, I could send that to a web service that might let appropriate people triage or vote on that bug. I love the flexibility behind this feature. Thanks to the Google Reader team for adding it!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Traffic Tips eBook

I'm working on putting together a digital book (or 'ebook')that can be downloaded instantly to your computer and read or printed) It will have approximately 15-20 different ways to generate traffic to your Web site or business.

Not all the tips may be right for you--the idea is for you to choose a couple that will work for your business and market, then begin putting them into use.

As always, this is not a "get rich quick" tool. It's tips you choose and put into practice on a regular basis. Then as time goes by, you'll slowly build traffic to your site - and be on the forefront of your customers' minds.

I hope to have it available for purchase on or around December 1. It will be affordable for small business owners (under $50).

Stay tuned for more details in the near future.

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Optimizing a Landing Page

A landing page is the first page a visitor to your site sees. I find myself reminding small business owners to keep their pages focused to one (2 at the most) things you want your visitors to do on a page. Since Seth Godin says it better than I, read the full article here.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Finding Your Purpose (John C Maxwell)

Identifying Your Strengths and Going for Growth


This is really a great article by John (known for his books on leadership) for Success Magazine. He writes about how knowing your passion can be an energizer, knowing your strengths, striving for excellence not average [I LOVE IT!], and how to stop giving attention to your weaknesses.

Read the full article.