This release features a lightning fast redesigned linking workflow which makes it easy to link to your existing posts and pages, an admin bar so you’re never more than a click away from your most-used dashboard pages, a streamlined writing interface that hides many of the seldom-used panels by default to create a simpler and less intimidating writing experience for new bloggers (visit Screen Options in the top right to get old panels back), and a refreshed blue admin scheme available for selection under your personal options.

So let’s break these features down in my order of importance (and coolness).

1. New Updated Admin Color Scheme

New but not a very big deal – I still like the gray. But the other thing you will see in the image below is a couple of check boxes that will allow you to choose where to show your new Admin Tool Bar (#3)

2. What WordPress is calling the Streamlined Writing Interface

What this means is that WordPress 3.1 has removed (hidden, actually) many of the “seldom-used panels by default to create a simpler and less intimidating writing experience for new bloggers“. This is great, unless it hides certain things link “custom fields” which I set up for my design and marketing clients, like fields for meta tags, and the featured content gallery image. This is especially cool when a client upgrades to WordPress 3.1 and those areas disappear on their edit and add new pages…

The concept is good – and anything hidden can be easily re-added to the page. I mean, really, who likes clutter anyway?

To add fields to your edit/add new page, just click the “screen options” button on the top right of your dashboard, to reveal all the fields available for your page.

Check or uncheck boxes depending on what you want to show on your page.

3. The New WordPress 3.1 Admin Tool Bar

This is great. Your new Admin Tool Bar can display in your admin and (way better yet) it can display for you, as long as you are logged in, on the top of your public site. So with one click, you can navigate from anywhere on your public site to nearly anywhere in your admin with one simple click! Sure beats the edit button on a post, if your trying to get to your profile page!

4. WordPress 3.1 Internal Linking Workflow

This is HUGE and it’s my favorite! I don’t know about you, but I have spent way too much time opening multiple tabs so I can add a link from one post or page to another. Now all you do is highlight the text you want to link from,  click the “link” icon… (It’s the little “chain link” icon in your edit toolbar.)

When you click the add a link icon you will see a new simplified pop up to create your link. Then, to add an internal link to another blog post or page, click the text that says “or link to existing content”.

Now you get the option to link to any content (a blog post or page in your WordPress installation! I love that!

After you click the “Add Link” button – you can see your link in the edit screen

If you have any comments or feedback, please join the conversation below.

Did you know: WordPress core developers share a love of jazz music, and all major releases (from 1.0) are named in honor of jazz musicians they admire? That explains why this version is named “Reinhardt”. To learn a little more about Jazz Guitarist Django Reinhardt, read on.

* A Little About Django Reinhardt

Django Reinhardt is one of the greatest guitarists in history. He’s tremendously influential, wicked cool, and incredibly vibrant and lyrical.

Django Reinhardt was the son of a traveling entertainer and the brother of Joseph Reinhardt. He grew up in a gypsy settlement outside Paris. Reinhardt first played violin and later took up guitar, and began working professionally in 1922 with the accordionist Guerino. In 1928, he was badly burned in a caravan fire, which resulted in the mutilation of his left hand. This deprived him of the use of two fingers and led him to devise a unique fingering method to overcome his handicap.

Read more… and by all means, watch the movie below.

Provide “Real Time” Customer Service!

People expect to be disappointed by customer service today, sadly that has been because too many businesses did not recognize the value of good customer support and a speedy reply and resolution. Unfortunately by the time they came to realize it, the damage had been done. However, for those companies who choose to break out of the mold using innovative means such as Twitter, then they can create a lasting positive impression not only on the customer they are serving but on potential customers. What follows are three examples of large companies doing amazing things with customer support on Twitter.

Provide “Real Time” Customer Service

JetBlue set about changing their image by providing superior customer support. While airlines are constantly subject to the whims of the weather and security concerns it doesn’t have to be a terminal issue for customer support. Providing real time customer service via Twitter helped JetBlue resolve complaints more quickly for stranded flyers.

Address Negative Comments

Toyota has had a lot to overcome in the past few years. They also learned an important lesson and that was to confront even negative publicity. Twitter conversations helped put a better face to a bad situation such as in the Toyota recalls. Even if the comments were negative to begin with, interacting with the customer base helped this company weather a rough PR period and begin to regain their customer loyalty.

Respond Instantly

Comcast responds instantly and personally to customer complaints. CC Chapman a renowned podcaster watching a Soccer championship game and his cable went out. Chapman blasted Comcast with a complaint on Twitter and within minutes the company had sent out a cable repairman to his house to fix the issue.  Comcast has alerts where if their services are mentioned they are notified and hence can respond in a timely fashion even if their customer service department is not contacted.

All three of these companies are in entirely different businesses with different reasons for using Twitter but all three are receiving positive customer reviews because of their superior customer support and company transparency.

What are some ways you can use Twitter for Customer Service?

Please share your ideas and comments below.d

A while back, I wrote about the GAP changing it’s logo and suffering a HUGE backlash online. What the GAP did was drop a bomb on their customers with no warning or no explanation.

Why Should the GAP warn us?

Just look at the backlash. With the advent of Social Media, it is increasingly difficult to fly under the radar. With the GAP as customers, we look to the iconography as familiar – we like familiar, it makes us feel safe. It’s like coming home after a day at school only to find out that your mom rearranged you closet and threw away your favorite shirt.

As a small business, it is extremely important to breed familiarity amongst your peeps. It makes them feel safe, when they feel that they know you and trust you.

The contrast that the title of this post alludes to is the contrasting way that Starbucks (my go to Social Media using business!) is updating their logo.

This from the CEO’s Starbucks Blog:

Nearly forty years ago – in a small retail space in Seattle’s Pike Place Market – Starbucks began its journey as a roaster and retailer of high-quality coffees from around the world. Back then, we sold only whole bean coffee – we wouldn’t begin offering espresso beverages in our stores until more than a decade later – but the Siren was as much a part of the Starbucks story as she is today.

On any given day here in Seattle, I might visit that original Pike Place store – but I might also drop in at our newly refurbished Olive Way store. The two store designs couldn’t be any more different – one harkens back to our heritage, the other looks boldly ahead to our future – but at their core, they’re identical, in that they retain the elements that have been true about Starbucks since the very beginning:

- A unique retail experience that creates a Third Place for our customers between their homes and places of work
– A carefully crafted offering of the finest, high-quality coffees from around the world
– The emotional connection that our partners make daily with our customers.

Throughout the last four decades, the Siren has been there through it all. And now, we’ve given her a small but meaningful update to ensure that the Starbucks brand continues to embrace our heritage in ways that are true to our core values and that also ensure we remain relevant and poised for future growth.

Notice how everything he writes in Customer Centric. from their dedication to their “emotional connection” with their patrons. He even calls Starbucks “A Third Place” – you know, that place you visit in between your home and work.

Next he writes:

You’ll begin to see our evolution starting this Spring. And there will be much more to come, as we celebrate our 40^th anniversary by honoring the millions of customers and thousands of partners who’ve made Starbucks such a welcoming presence around the world. We think you’ll like what you see.

Whether everyone agrees with the logo change or not, the fact remains the company feels the need to evolve and they are inviting their “friends” to come along for the ride.

You can check out some more of the preview here – Starbucks’ New Logo

What can you do to give your customers comfort and give them a feeling of “A Third Place”? Please share your ideas and comments below.

Get the New Year Started on the Right Foot.

How to leverage social media to the best advantage, what are the hottest apps coming out and how can they help a small business grow and more are just some of the results from Mashable’s Year End Roundup. While time is tight for any businessperson there are some new ways to get the most out of marketing that may surprise the reader.

Skype is in the running for getting more done in less time with less money and right from the business owner’s computer.

Groupon coupons may be a way to gain customers, re-engage existing and inactive customers and naturally to help with the branding.

Networking with other small businessmen and entrepreneurs is an essential and can generate new ideas and enthusiasm on both sides.

Google accounts can generate business for the small business on a budget, it is all in the know-how. Location based Google ads can help the brick and mortar store or even better the chain store seeking to serve a customer better, knowing a customer’s history can help the store overcome complaints and provide even better service.

Seo Friendly blog posts are a necessity for promoting a site, not only must the blog have useful content, but making it attractive to the search engines is essential.

How to hire a designer or developer is a burning question since all too many new businesses fall prey to being burned or choosing the wrong designer. Along with that essential information the business owner may find they need to think out how they communicate their expectations to their designers.

Branded Mobile applications are the rage right now and some get the idea, and others just don’t “get it”. Be one of those who gets the idea without annoying the consumer.

Recruiting using the iPhone and apps can be a time saver for recruiter and even better it is portable.

One of the newest tech rages is that of accepting credit card payments on mobile devices. This can be ideal for the business that goes to the customer and where space is an issue.

This has been a year of change with many new products coming out and a lot of focus on what marketers do and how they do it. Taking a lesson from large companies that did it right, and those who failed can save the small business a lot of time and money.

Use your Facebook Fan Page to Drive People into your Business – The Sprinkles Effect

It is no news now that social networking sites like Facebook are a great tool for the small and large business if used the right way. What most businesses are doing right now, is finding their footing and their voice. A few pioneers however made it on the first try and did what others only dream of: they established a strong and active fan base on Facebook which has positively impacted their sales.

What did these pioneers have that others didn’t have? Well two things are relatively consistent between large and small companies who succeed using social media. The first is a passion for the platform whether it is Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin. Understanding and enjoying the value of the social networking experience brings life to their posts and tweets and shouts. The second factor is a passion for their product. If a company builds wonderful cars but the social media representative doesn’t care that much about cars, it is unlikely they can produce a campaign or even carry a conversation that is engaging enough to gather followers or fans, much less impact sales.(Get it?!)

When you put those two factors together, you have the basics and all the rest follows.  A company called Sprinkles used just that credo. Although the owner has no time for taking a breath during the day his account is logged on to Facebook constantly. As early as 2009 this company had 70,000 followers on Facebook (a lot for that early in the social networking history).

Why? Well partially because his product is wonderful according to his fans. However a wonderful product doesn’t always ensure a good fan base on Facebook. Instead, it is because at random times during the week a word will be posted on the Facebook wall and the first of their customers to appear at any of their stores and whisper that word will win a free cupcake.

It is not the cupcake so much that these upscale customers enjoy, but the fun of the game and the race to be first. This is just one more example of small business getting it and being successful on Facebook.

Are you passionate about your business? Your message? Are you equally passionate about social networking to promote?

Visit Sprinkes Web Site

What are some ways that you can engage your customers using your Facebook Fan Page?

Please comment and share below. What are you doing that is working and where can you use help?

It’s always great to acknowledge outstanding achievers. And I must say that Time magazine’s recognition of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as its “Person of the Year” is well deserved. In a single day, Zuckerberg said, “about a billion new pieces of content are posted on Facebook. It is the connective tissue for nearly a tenth of the planet.” The online network could now be called the “third largest country on earth and surely has more information about its citizens than any government does.” He went on to tell Time that “the next five years for Facebook would be about ‘building out this social platform’ and the “widespread acknowledgment by other industries that this is the way that stuff should be and will be better.”

Zuckerberg’s outlook on Facebook and the future of Facebook is quite fascinating and in a way rather refreshing. When asked about the sale of Facebook, Zuckerberg stated that Facebook would stay independent as that has always been the plan. “As a company we’re very focused on what we’re building and not as focused on the exit. We just believe that we’re adding a certain amount of value to people’s lives if we build a very good product. That’s the reason why more than half of our users use the product every day — it’s a more efficient way for them to communicate with their friends and get information about the people around them than anything else they can do. We’re not really looking to sell the company. We’re not looking to IPO [Initial Public Offering] anytime soon. It’s just not the core focus of the company.”

Pretty amazing to be 26 and named “Person of the Year” (the second youngest to win this title. Charles Lindbergh was the youngest at 25), let alone running a successful corporation such as Facebook. Since it began naming a “Man of the Year” in 1927, Time has selected individuals not necessarily for their good works or intentions but for their impact on the news. Time Editor Rick Stengel said Zuckerberg was chosen “for connecting more than half-a-billion people and mapping the social relations among them (something that has never been done before); for creating a new system of exchanging information that has become both indispensable and sometimes a little scary; and finally, for changing how we all live our lives in ways that are innovative and even optimistic.”

And how does Mark Zuckerberg respond to the pressures that come along with running a hyper-fast paced, high-profile technology company? Here is his simple, yet quite wise response: “I was watching an interview with Steve Jobs the other day, in which he said that ‘In order to be doing something like this, you have to really, really like what you’re doing, because otherwise it just doesn’t make sense.’ The demands and the amount of work that it takes to put something like [Facebook] into place; it’s just so much that if you weren’t completely into what you were doing and you didn’t think it was an important thing, then it would be irrational to spend that much time on it. Part of the reason why this is fun is because we’ve managed to build a team of really smart people who come from different backgrounds and have different experiences and think in different ways. People constantly try to put us in a bucket: are we trying to sell the company? What are we trying to do? What is the business strategy? People are often more interested in why we’re hiring a stock-options administrator. Whereas for me and a lot of people around me, that’s not really what we focus on. We’re just focused on building things.”

Inspirational stuff. He gets my vote!

If you want to read more of his interview with TIme, check out this link.

It’s true, what happens in Vegas stays on Facebook, Twitter and many other potential outlets these days. In the Facebook age, every image and utterance a person makes can be documented online. Anonymity is quickly becoming a thing of the past – get used to it. Social Media is not going anywhere, instead, it’s up to us to learn how to cope with it. And coping really isn’t enough – it is completely up to us to police our image online and make sure that we present to the world exactly the image we want or at least within an acceptable range within our marketplace. A lot of what we do online is image marketing. Now I’m not talking about anything phony or fake here, simply that if we are doing business or in the job market we want to be very careful about what ends up online. (That’s why I wrote this a year and a half ago: What NOT to put on Your Facebook Profile).

If you are alive right now, you have probably had moments and/or experiences in your past that might now become embarrassing. If you went to college, there is some multiplier in existence for your potential embarrassment quotient. Again, the question is, how do you handle it.

Case in point:

What happens when those social media mavens run for political office? Krystal Ball, a Virginia Democrat running for Congress, found out this week when racy pictures of her wound up on line.

How did she handle it and should we expect more of these sorts of issues in future campaigns?

Watch the 2 videos below and take note on her response. As a politician she has the ability to play a bit of a deflection game – but for us as business owners, or employees, how do we respond if something a little embarrassing from our past shows up? Please share your comments and opinions below.

Her full response is here:

What if you were so highly dedicated to one singular goal that absolutely nothing could stop you?

When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River with his army in 49 BC, he knew it was an act of war. But before he crossed the Rubicon, he gave his men a choice. Anyone who crossed the river with him made a solemn oath – They would not ever cross back unless they were victorious. That’s where the phrase “Crossing the Rubicon” comes from.

I want to share with you a great blog with tons of great ideas:  Art of Non-Conformity, written by Chris Guillebeau.

His website chronicles his writing on how to change the world by achieving significant, personal goals while helping others at the same time. In the battle against conventional beliefs, he focuses on three areas: Life, Work, and Travel. Sound great, right?

In the following post Chris talks about what drives successful entrepreneurs. Here’s the deal, we don’t quit. Successful people in all walks of life focus on the goal, the end game. As soon as you take your eye off the prize and start thinking about an escape route, backup plan or your “Plan B” – you can easily find yourself in trouble.

Here’s Chris’ take on your Plan B:

My favorite part of reading case studies and interviewing entrepreneurs over the past couple of months has been hearing a number of stories with a recurring theme. In dozens of variations, the stories usually sound like this:

“I was down to my last $400 and simply had to make it work…”

“I gave up the option to take a reduced role at my job and just went full-tilt…”

“I didn’t know what I was doing, but I finally overcame everything I was stalling on and just started …”

Refusing the backup plan is a key theme of many successful entrepreneurs and other heroes. A good backup plan creates safety, security and a fall-back option—things you don’t want when you’re trying to change the world.

Will Smith put it like this: “Your Plan B interferes with Plan A.” I like that. Why not stick with Plan A?

The Pilot, The Plan

Turning down the safe advice (“be careful, take your time,” etc.) makes some people uncomfortable.
When you proceed full-on with no backup, you might encounter questions or supposedly unassailable examples of why backup plans are necessary.

You’ll hear something like “Airplane pilots always have a Plan B,” as if it’s an open-and-shut case that you’re wrong to chart a course without considering the contingencies. And when you are presented with such logic, you are expected to say: “Oh, you’re right! It really is better to play it safe. Gosh.”

But hold on a minute. Personally, I want my pilot to safely land the damn plane. Assuming that’s Plan A, I’m happy to stick with it. Anything else doesn’t sound like a good plan to me.

We can change our tactics and maybe even our strategy, but let’s not change the goal. The goal is: be awesome. Change the world. Win. In short: Your backup plan is your plan.

Don’t get me wrong; I know that change is a scary thing, and I don’t think prudence is inherently bad. If you need to proceed with caution, proceed away.

But I also know that sometimes the fail-safe plan gives us a safe way out of what we really need to do. It holds us back from greatness. And if there’s anything we don’t want when attempting something truly important, it’s that. Full speed ahead!

So how about you over there… what’s your plan?

That’s a good question, don’t you think? What is your plan. Here’s the challenge- make a plan. Write it down. It doesn’t have to be an earth shattering plan…yet. Just do something. Take some action. Create a new habit of taking action. Whatever it is. Write a blog post, go to the gym, set up a teleseminar. Whatever it is, in the immortal words of Nike: “Just Do It!”

Please add your comments below and share.

Source: Art of Non-Conformity, written by Chris Guillebeau – Read more from his brilliant blog.

Welcome to your WordPress Dashboard.

This video covers the basics of WordPress and what you’ll see immediately when you login to your WordPress Administration.

Why is WordPress such a powerful tool to manage your Website?

Having your site built using WordPress, is the first step in creating success for your self online. Your entire site can be managed from one place. Simply and elegantly. The following video is your introduction to WordPress, or if you are a veteran, this video may shed some new light on why WordPress was such as great choice.

Please Comment and share below. Thanks!

That is a question that was asked in AdAge Magazine. It never really answers the question per se, but alludes to several different problems when branding with social media. This article speaks mostly to large businesses, but you know how I like to apply the rules of the big players to the rest of us.

A brand’s social media engagement is typically piecemealed by different functions within a company as well as by different agencies. While social media can add value across marketing disciplines, it is problematic without coordinated planning and execution (or at the very least visibility across teams).

Well if this isn’t sort of a quality problem… If only I had a staff to handle my social media. But the picture is a little bigger.

It is very important to keep your message clear across your social media. Bad planning leads to bad execution. I consulted with a franchise owner – nope, not mentioning the franchise, sorry, who had all their social media set up and were using it diligently, problem was how they were using it. They were tweeting about the LA Lakers (basketball), which can be OK in your local market, but bashing and demeaning opponents… That’s not such a good idea. In Los Angeles, we have a very transient population – fans of teams from all over the country – they are your customers, or were until you started to trash talk their team… Get it?

Clear messages – whether you’re a one person show, or you have a social media staff, keep the message clear.

So a pressing need is emerging: to communicate who you are as a brand and what you stand for through social media in a far more consistent, strategic and global way.

My recommendation to any and every small business. Don’t sign up for every Social Media site. Hold it to these:

1. Facebook – a Fan Page is a great tool
2. Twitter – allows you to continually reinforce your brand message and identity
3. LinkedIn – Allows you to network with other professionals
4. Youtube – The 2nd most trafficked search engine (behind Google) and you can add videos too
5. Niche Forum – If a popular forum exists in your niche, learn from what people are saying, participate if you feel the need.

To avoid getting lost on your journey, it is important to think of Social Media as more than a set of tools. Social is part of all media and plays a huge role in branding online and offline. Now more than ever we have to think social by design. Need a MAP? (<== Check that link out!)

Source: AdAge Magazine

Please add your comments and ideas below.

Well, that’s not quite what I did. I went a little more elaborate. After spending some time thinking about what my offer should be – I decided to share something really good: How I added over 10,000 twitter followers to my personal Twitter account in under 90 days.

I have laid it all out step by step in, not a 2 or 3 page download, but in a 20 page illustrated ebook that I am offering for one single dollar.

So go ahead – it’s only a buck, and I am offering a double your money back guarantee! if you’re not totally thrilled by your dollar purchase…

Let’s see, what can I buy for a dollar?

A Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, a head of iceberg lettuce, a McDonald’s Double Cheeseburger off the dollar menu… The list is, well not going to help you leverage the power of Twitter for your business, but then again you can’t eat my book…

If you are reading this – You most certainly are looking for ways to improve your efficiency and results with your online marketing efforts. Well here you get a very detailed guide to add  thousands of targeted Twitter Followers – with not a ton of time or effort.

Click here to read more.

OK so here’s an interesting concept: You got a lot of friends on Facebook and tons of followers on Twitter, even a great profile over on LinkedIn, but the question remains: How influential are you?

That’s where the guys over at Fast Company Magazine – they are attempting to gauge exactly how influential we are in Social media, beyond the numbers. From Fast Company writer, Mark Borden:

What the Influence Project aims to do is remove some of the mystery behind the inherent passivity of social network numbers. This experiment will show what happens when an individual takes an audience at rest and applies an unbalanced force–through suggestion, advice or direction–that converts it into an army of action. That’s power that can be quantified and lead to an understanding that can be applied to both the largest and smallest of networks. No doubt it’s profound to address a million followers and get 100,000 of them to respond. But what does it mean when you have one hundred friends on Facebook and 97 of them click through to a site on your recommendation?

This is a really great question isn’t it? How much clout do you really have? This isn’t a ego trip we’re talking about here, just a clever test as to how responsive your community is – whether it’s your friends, co-workers, students or customers.

So, begs the question, how influential are you? The bigger can be: “How influential are the people you influenced? Remember the movie “6 Degrees of Separation” or the game 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon? Well the Influence project tracks our influence to 6 degrees.

Is it useful? Maybe…

Is it silly? Maybe

Whatever the answer, I feel that is worth my 2 minutes to sign up and tell my friends (alright, so I wrote a blog post too).

Just follow this link to start the process: The Influence Project

Once there, just take a couple of seconds to sign up. Then spread the word and watch how your influence grows.

Then ask yourself one question: “Am I influencing my target audience?”

So you are a small business. If I ask you what your marketing budget is – does your answer sound like: “What marketing budget?” If that’s the case (or if you said, “pretty small”…) you need a dose of guerrilla marketing – or marking tips for a shoestring budget.

Following are some tips that will help you get new customers and clients – and get them to take action – without breaking the bank.

1. Word of Mouth Marketing

Once your business is up and running, tell everyone you know – friends, family, business colleagues and acquaintances, essentially, anyone who will listen. Describe your business to them – what it does or offers. You can even offer them an incentive – like a discount on your products or service or even a cash commission. Nothing wins over allies like cold, hard cash…

2. A little Public Relations

A lot of folks believe that Marketing and PR are one in the same. Not quite…

There are a few differences: Marketing is paid-for exposure under a company’s direct control, while public relations was free exposure.

Marketing has at its core a desire to reach consumers and make them think, believe or do what you want. Public relations is more focussed on influencing reputation, whether corporate or personal.

There are several ways that a small business can generate good Public Relations – using press releases, media events, even getting yourself exposure in local media. By positioning yourself (and your business) as experts in your arena – you suddenly create a lot of value for yourself to the local media.

3. Social Media

If you know anything about me, you know that I believe no business (large or small) should be without a social media marketing strategy. I suggest that you focus your attention on this power trio: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. They are a great way to create new relationships and deepen existing ones. They allow you to highlight new products and company news. They also provide a great platform for customer feedback. And remember I mentioned “Word of Mouth’ efforts above? These sights give your friends, connections and followers the opportunity to tell their friends about you.

4. Email Auto Responders and Newsletters

No business website should be without an email capture – right there on the home page (and every page, if you ask me). Put you signup form right in front of your site’s visitors. Don’t make them click for the privilege! Yes there was sarcasm… Statistics show that every time you make a visitor click a link, 50% don’t do it. And if you have other links on your page, you reduce the odds further.

Good, they’ve signed up, now what?

A regular Newsletter is a great marketing tool – it let’s you reconnect with existing contacts on a regular basis. This accomplishes two things: 1) It acts a a gentle reminder about your business and service, and 2) You can offer specials that get them returning to your site and/or physical location. Pretty cool, huh?

My suggestion for an email service provider is MailChimp. They are great, they automatically clean your list and provide a nice easy way to create beautiful newsletters.

Best of all, until you grow over 500 subscribers, their service is free!

Are you on Twitter? If you are, you certainly know that you are not alone–32 million others are tweeting right along with you. But did you know that you can use this awesome social media tool to help you find a job? A recent Yahoo! HotJobs poll showed that only 8% of respondents have used Twitter to help with a job search. Considering the state of the job market today, don’t leave any stone unturned if you are out there looking for a job.

Dan Schawbel, author of “Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success,” shares  some tips to help you use Twitter to raise your professional profile and put your job search on the fast track.

1. Brand yourself. Instead of just jumping in, Schawbel says, “Before using any social network, create a single, unified social-media strategy, so that your brand remains consistent throughout each network that you join, including Twitter.” He recommends using the same professional picture or avatar and user name, a consistent bio, and a “personal brand statement” that explains what you do and who your audience is.

2. Fine-tune your Twitter homepage. Twitter has some great tools that you should use to make sure that your Twitter homepage looks professional. Schawbel: “Just like your other social network profiles, your Twitter profile should be completely filled out. This includes your full name, location, a biography, and — the single most important element — a single link to a site of your choosing. I recommend directing people to a blog, your LinkedIn profile, or a site that you feel best represents you. If you really want to take your brand to the next level, then a custom Twitter background, which you can make using twitterimage.com or twitterbacks.com, is required.”

3. Build your audience. Don’t think you know anyone on Twitter? Think again. “A percentage of your friends, family, and previous coworkers are already on Twitter,” says Schwabel. “You can easily import contacts from most Web-mail programs or find people using Twitter’s search engine and invite your network onto Twitter with an email invitation. Then, use Twitter search to locate people in your industry, follow them, and interact with them through a series of tweets and ‘retweets’ over time.”

4. Start tweeting. Not sure what to tweet about? “Tweet what you know”, says Schawbel. “The more you tweet about what you know, the more you’ll become the go-to person on that topic in the Twitterverse. The key to building an audience is to remain interesting to your current followers so that they retweet your messages and more people discover and follow you. And, again, by constantly following more people, namely the influencers in your industry, and pushing out relevant tweets, your audience will grow rapidly.”

5. Don’t be shy-let people know you are looking. There are a few ways to let your followers know that you’re in the market for a new job. “First, revise your Twitter profile to call attention to the type of job you’re looking for. Second, customize your Twitter background and add in text that talks about where you’re headed in your career. Finally, you can send a tweet after you’ve built your follower count, which states your expertise and the type of job you’re looking for,” he advises. To get a job you may have to help others find them too. “If you discover a job lead on Twitter and it’s not related to what you want to do, passing it on is an effective way to network.”

Let’s take a look shall we and see how we can apply this to your business. Inc Magazine offers 5 quotes from Aaron. I’ll dig a little deeper into what he said and give you a few ideas of exactly how these concepts can  apply to you and your business.

Create a product that makes the difficult & boring easy & fun

“What set us apart from 95 percent of other start-ups is that we served a real need,” Patzer says. “Personal finance is so complex and too difficult for most people. I was frustrated with the existing tools and found out that others were frustrated as well.”

Volkswagen is using this idea in an ad campaign to help our environment: http://www.thefuntheory.com

How can you attract new customers/clients by making something fun. Adding a coupon to your website or maybe a game or puzzle to solve for a prize discount. Think about this one and get your creative juices flowing!

Choose a market that’s really, really big. What’s the word? (BIG)

“There are 250 million people worldwide who already use online banking,” Patzer says. “With our 1.5 million users, we’ve barely scratched the surface. Intuit made a billion dollars on its tax business alone and that’s a once-a-year thing. People do online banking every day.”

Or target a niche market the is BIG enough. Of course it would be great to score that $170 million home run – that’s why we think big. But if you target your niche thoughtfully – always delivering your value to the marketplace, you can always target a bigger, wider market at any time!

Develop a business model that actually makes you money.

“Our product is free, but we make our money by helping people save money,” Patzer says. “We understand where people spend their money so we can say, ‘You should refinance’ or ‘You should change your auto insurance.’ The only ads people see on Mint.com are ones that will save them at least $50. Financial institutions then pay us for new customers.”

On the surface, this one seems like a no brainer. That is why we are in business – to make money. But if you are spinning your entrepreneurial wheels, not making money, it’s time to get a better model.

How can you improve your model so that it delivers maximum value to your customers and maximum dollars to you?

Don’t pay for new customers/clients. Ever.

“All of our customer acquisition has been free — through social media, blogs, and the press,” Patzer says. “We don’t pay a dime for advertising. We also use business partnerships with Motley Fool and the credit-report companies. And Apple has given us a lot of free advertising as a featured application.”

This is my favorite! I love FREE stuff! That’s why I am active on the social networks and my blogs giving value away. I follow the Universal Law of Reciprocity. In your life how many times has someone given you a gift that you were anxious to repay? My guess – almost every time you receive a gift. We want to give back, return the favor. It is built in us naturally.

“One of the most potent of the weapons of influence around us is the rule for reciprocation. The rule says that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us.” ~ Robert B. Cialdini, author of The Psychology of Persuasion

Be a extremely careful about who you hire.

“In the last start-up I worked for, hiring was done haphazardly,” Patzer says. “We have a very rigorous hiring process. For tech people, we might screen 50 people and hire one. For all managers, we use a technique called top grading which reveals patterns in behavior. In the history of Mint, I’ve only fired two people and only one has left voluntarily.”

Bringing people onto your team is a big deal and should be treated such. Don’t hire someone just because they are cheap. This is not a good policy. People who believe in your mission will go the extra mile for you – be on the lookout for those people.

If you found this post helpful, please leave a comment or use the “Tweetmeme” button above to tweet it.

Thanks

Twitter is a great marketing tool.

Many people might make the mistake of thinking that it’s only for online businesses, but Twitter will bring a ton of business to a local brick and mortar shop. A friend of mine in Minneapolis Minnesota uses Twitter, very effectively, to get customers to walk into his shop everyday!

It takes a little effort to turn your Twitter page into a marketing machine, but there are a few of ways to make it happen.

First off, get acquainted with Twitter. There are a lot of great resources available online which teach the basics (including this blog).

So, who are all these people following your Twitter page? Followers are users that, in theory, like your content and want constant updates. The more followers you gain, the better your marketing. But if you want people to walk into your shop or take advantage of an offline offer, you’ll want to target followers who are a) interested in your business and b) live in your area. Wouldn’t you know… Twitter gives you tools to target these users.

Use the Twitter search to look for users in your area and locals who are interested in your business. Searching on Twitter requires some shorthand. For example: to search for users in your area, type in “near:Topanga within:25mi” or search for people in Los Angeles who like movies by typing in “movies Los Angeles”. When you start following some of these users, they will look at your Twitter page and likely start to follow you.

You can also stroll on over to the TwellowHood directory, which allows you to find Twitter users oin your area. Just use the map to drill down to your town and find out who’s there to follow on Twitter.

Once you have some of followers it’s time to begin promoting your business to them. Remember that your Twitter followers will get all your updates. Some followers even have it sent to their cell phones. This is how you can easily update all your followers on everything from daily specials, discounts, in store events, and coupons. Twitter acts as a real time messaging system, so you can even tell your followers about things right now.

Have your followers help you create a community. Give your followers rewards for passing on coupons, specials and offers to their  friends with ReTweets. ReTweeting gets your customers doing your marketing for you. It is the ultimate Internet word of mouth and a great way to build relationships – after all, that’s what a community is built on right? What’s the word? Relationships.

Twitter is growing at an amazing rate. Leverage this tool to create some local buzz about your business. Twitter is free to use and easy to learn. Two of my favorite things Free and Easy!

If you found this article helpful, please add a comment or use the “Tweetmeme” Button above to Tweet about it.

Thanks,

Lennie

This post began as an article written by Jennifer Davey. She is a Small Business Coach and Marketing Strategist. Jennifer coaches small businesses, self employed professionals, and solopreneurs in strategies for getting clients and making more income.

Discover what you need to know to get client’s, by reading Jennifer’s FREE report “What You Need to Know to Be Successful at Getting Clients”, available at http://jjscoaching.com/free-marketing-tips/.

How many times in an email, Facebook, Twitter or other sites have you seen a web address like this: www.govisitmysite.com and the damn thing isn’t clickable? A little annoying, right?

How many times have you copied and pasted the link?

My guess… very few. By adding these 7 simple characters, you unleash the mad, straight up power that is the INTERNET! You are leaving money, leads, customers, clients (and did I mention MONEY) on the table by not making your link clickable everywhere and anywhere you can!

NEWS FLASH —–> No one is going to take the time to copy and paste your link, EVER! (almost)

Err on the side of good business – use the http:// and your link  becomes live: http://www.govisitmysite.com (this is an example only). Don’t leave prospective clients, customers and/or cash hanging on Facebook, Twitter and even in your email.

The other bonus is that you get those important backlinks to your site – without the http:// all you get is some text on another site…

Here’s a little experiment for you. Pay attention to all the non-working links you see, just on Facebook (especially on the person’s profile and their own link) and report back here. I would love and appreciate the feedback. If you found this post helpful, Please leave a comment!

Thanks and happy linking, Facebooking and Twittering…

Well I have an idea. When we think of selling one of the first images to pop into our heads is the shady used car salesman… So why does this bother us so? (and stick with us?). Maybe because the in-authenticity of the message and the incongruency of the messenger.

So what do I mean?

The used car salesman is usually selling a car that he/she wouldn’t own themselves, heck, they’d probably not even like to ride shotgun… So the words coming out of their mouths is not in alignment with their true beliefs and it shows.

Consciously we might not notice this, but subconsciously we know they are lying. This, then, is the root of our “hate” for selling. We feel dirty, embarrassed and, frankly, like liars. Or at least we feel that this is how others will view us. And GOD knows we don’t want people to think we are used car salesmen (no offense to those who sell cars…).

Now let’s flip this around, shall we? What happens when you see a great movie or eat at an amazing restaurant and want to share the experience with friends? You gush, you are grounded and the AUTHENTICITY of your message is unmistakable. You are, in fact, “selling” the movie or restaurant “experience” to your friends. YES, SELLING! During this sales process you are congruent with your message and it resonates through you to your audience.

If you have a product, service or idea, that you believe in, that is great, don’t be shy. If it’s so wonderful why won’t you share it. Would you not tell your friends about the movie or dining extravaganza? Of course not.

The key is to find the truth in what you are selling. When what you are speaking aligns with your truth, it shows. Take a look at Oprah, Barak Obama, Ronald Reagan, JFK. When they speak/spoke, their message rings true through their entire being.

We can design the best website, the best power point, write killer copy, but if we don’t believe what we are saying, it ain’t gonna sell…

So in talking about authenticity of a message on Martin Luther King day, it only makes sense to honor a man who spoke his truth. Take a look at Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech. Listen beyond words, see beyond the image, and truly feel the truth he was speaking.

Increasingly, business experts are recommending that businesses and brands at all levels incorporate Facebook into their marketing strategies.

All the data shows that internet users are spending more and more of their time online in social networks, and less and less time on traditional brand websites. With the numbers of users out there going stratospheric, it’s obvious why digital marketing and business experts are urging businesses to develop a presence on Facebook.

Some business experts even challenge whether businesses need a traditional brand website at all, recommending that they should put their digital marketing energies into developing their online social network profiles instead.I don’t agree with this – You should have your own branded web presence, but it does speak to the power of getting your presence felt on Facebook!

Facebook can put your business in direct communication with your customers. While this is a massive opportunity for brands, there is also potential for businesses to do themselves considerable damage if they don’t manage their communications, strategy, and online behaviour well.

3 Strategies to employ on Facebook:

1. Get “lots” of friends – targeting friends within your niche. This gives you a head start in your online business.
2. Develop a Facebook app. This will introduce you to more potential clients/customers.
3. Partner with other businesses that share your niche.

Remember to post plenty of appealing content like photos, video, and articles that customers will find useful. Not only will this increase brand awareness, but it will breed loyalty witthin you customer base.

Not quite but I’ll tell you what. If you pay attention to any great rock front man or woman, you will notice a couple of very clever tactics.

Dateline Sunday July 20th… So there I was indulging in a guilty pleasure… Let me back up. The first concert that I ever attended was a KISS concert in 1977 when they were at their pinnacle (I have seen them 5 times since, twice on halloween!)

Like I said, guilty pleasure… So sunday I popped in a DVD “Kiss w/ the Melbourne Symphony. Kiss, the garishly made up rock band (with tons of pop hooks) with a symphony… Should be interesting, I thought.

It’s amazing what a different perspective will do. The DVD was tons of fun (guilty pleasure, remember…) but I noticed all the sales, marketing and trainer tricks that lead singer Paul Stanley was using and realized that all the great Rock Bands do this to create the rabid, evangelist seeking following.

Acknowledge!

The first thing any good Rocker will do is acknowledge the fans and thank them: Paul Stanley on the DVD, “We had offers from a lot of Cities to play with a symphony, but we had such a great time here last time, we just had to come back!”

Giving your audience ownership: “You made this song popular, we may have written it but this song is yours!” – Yep, Paul Stanley said this too.

Wow that’s powerful!

Setting the Context

If you’re going to sell, let the audience know and get their permission first.

Never, ever lay into your sales pitch without taking the time to acknowledge your audience and getting to know them first!

This was a Tweet I received (sort of, since I can’t find the tweet or who twittered..)

At a bar-b-que: Me: beautiful day isn’t it? Other guy: Heard of Amway? Never, ever, ever!

“We’re gonna slow this next song down a bit. Is that alright with you?

Permission marketing creates loyalty!

What’s in it for me?

Again any decent trainer or marketer will lay out up front what valuable stuff is coming for the audience. “Over the next hour (or whatever) I’m going to give you/tell you about these things that will rock your world!

Paul Stanley: “We’re gonna rock your asses off!”

Now, if you make this promise, you better deliver!

Involving your Audience – leads to inclusion!

Rockers do this: Sing alongs, clap alongs.

Here’s a great example of involving the audience. In the 80′s I saw Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin fame on tour solo. When it came time to play the Led Zepp classic “Stairway to Heaven” the singer on the tour took a break. On stage a single spotlight stayed on an empty mike. So what happened? A chorus of 15,000 + sang instead. Amazing! At that point, if we hadn’t already, we were all drinking the Koolade. Don’t leave anyone behind.

Leading Questions

“Do you wanna Rock?” – what a clever way to involve/include your audience. How about if you are marketing razors… “Has anyone ever cut themselves shaving?”

Demand a response!

Audience participation part deux: Ever heard this one? “Does anyone wanna ROCK!” then after the first response: “What?! I can’t her you!”. This, as any trainer will tell you is called “Demanding a response!”

Do you want to leave your audience out? Next time you are attending a sales meeting, seminar, teleclass, whatever, pay attention to the speaker for, in my opinion, a fatal mistake. The presenter/speaker asks a question and the audience doesn’t really respond but they move on anyway. Guess what, they just left all those non responders behind.

Go to one of T. Harv Eker’s, Tony Robbins or Alex Mandossian’s events and watch masters at keeping the audience involved at work.

Or just go to a great rock show! And when you do, pay attention, you’ll be surprised at all you can learn from a ROCKSTAR!

And remember, it doesn’t matter how many tricks you employ, if you don’t, in the end, deliver the promised “goods”!

John McCrea: There are a few phases to social networking. The first phase was Friendster, MySpace and clones and it was pretty frivolous. Everyone connected as a friend. Strangers came together online. The second phase was about who you knew, maintaining and enriching your relationships. It was a way not to lose touch with people as you changed jobs or moved. The latest phase is an online representation of real world activity. Small and midsize businesses were always people who spent money on their Rolodexes and then on database software. They survive and thrive based on the power of personal networks.

I’ll point to Plaxo as a network address book and “Pulse” as an online service as examples. Plaxo was a precursor to an Internet-based service and it’s composed of members keeping up their contact information on their “implied profile page.” Even then, many users would share birthdates and would get e-mails about who changed jobs, whose birthday it is, etc. It allowed people to connect and send flowers on a birthday or congratulate someone on a new job. It made networking stuff easier to do and made a smaller businessperson appear well organized and thoughtful. Pulse brings the address book to life. Users can connect up with different services on the Web. They can share postings on Flickr or a blog, where getting an audience can be hard.

Truly it is about starting a relationship first. Nothing is more annoying than the guy (or gal) who upon the first meeting immediately bombards you info about the latest and greatest network marking company etc… Get to know me first is my policy.

Getting to know your customers and/or potential customers is the fiirst step in discovering their needs and how you can best assist them, solve their problem or ease their pain.

The Business Value Of Social Networking – Forbes.com.

That’s the Lead question and answer in this intriguing article on TheMultiChannelMerchant.com. If you aren’t sending the right message, your Small business (or any business) will suffer the consequences online.

This really well thought out article talks about visitor personality types and how they respond to your website architecture. Pretty great stuff!

Before you begin analyzing the effectiveness of your content, you need to understand your visitors’ frame of reference. Every visitor does things for specific reasons. These reasons translate into four distinct preferences that explain the how and why behind what people do.

Once you understand the four basic personality types — emotional, logical, fast-paced, and disciplined — you can build perspectives or snapshots that give you insight into how your customers might want to purchase your products. From there you can adjust your site design, content, and creatives.

Your visitors fall into certain profiles that give you a better understanding of who each group is and what their mode of behavior is going to be:

• Fast-paced or spontaneous visitors: Hip, stylish, and fun-loving, these people look for impulse buys and in-style products and services.
• Emotional visitors: These people think in terms of family and relationships, and will look for what everyone else is buying, or whatever will most help them be socially involved.
• Logical visitors: This group wants to drill down into the details of your products or services and compare and contrast options.
• Disciplined or competitive visitors: These folks know exactly what they want and are on your site only to get it in a quick, methodical, and straightforward way.

The article go deep into the idea of designing a site for different personalities. Have a good read here.

Once you understand the four basic personality types — emotional, logical, fast-paced, and disciplined — you can build perspectives or snapshots that give you insight into how your customers might want to purchase your products. From there you can adjust your site design, content, and creatives.

1. To set up an event, just go to your Facebook profile and click the link in the left hand navigation area that says “Events” (it’s just below the search bar in the “Applications” area). Next, look for the button on the right that reads, “Create an Event”. Click it and your good to go.
2. On this next page you get to name your event. This is probably your most important step. You want to make the name of your event create curiosity and interest. Be clever but not too clever. The name of your event should leverage your  expertise. People want to go to an event lead by an expert! Here’s your chance to be recognized as an expert which, in turn, breeds credibility amongst your Facebook peers. **One important note: Once you name an event, IT CANNOT BE CHANGED!

   If you are using a Facebook Event to introduce your Business, Small Business, product or service, you want to make  sure that you open your event to the entire Facebook community, you never want to limit the potential attendance.

3. List your Event Tagline, your Host’s name (that’s  you or one of your groups) and the type of event planned (you have choices like “Party”, “Causes”, “Education”  and “Meetings”). I like Education and/or Meetings.
4. Next you’re going to add the description of your event.The Event description is  also a very valuable bit  of real estate. You want to make it brief but full of the reasons why this event MUST BE ATTENDED! List the benefits for the attendees. There are 2 things you must accomplish in this brief event description:

   1. ETR – Stands for Earn The Right – who are you and why should I listen to you.
   2. WIIFM – “What’s In It For Me” – List the benefits for the attendees. You need to provide them  with all the compelling evidence needed for  them to attend YOUR event.

5. Make sure to fill out the rest of the required info on this page and click  the “Create Event” button.Note: If your event is a tele-class, tele-seminar or webinar, list that in the Location Field.
6. On the next page, you will (yes, WILL) add a picture for your Event. No one is going to take you seriously and attend your event if you don’t bother to add a picture. Ask yourself: Would you?”
7. You are given a lot of other options on this page. Most of the defaults are fine but I would disable “Photos” and “Videos”. There is no reason that I can think of to allow others to post pics or videos on your event page. We want to limit distractions.Do however, allow posted items. If you can get people engaged and talking on your Event page, you mission is nearly accomplished!
8. Once you have uploaded your Event Picture and selected the rest of the event settings, you are ready to “Save and Continue”. (The blue button on the bottom…)
9. The Final step is to invite ALL your friends. Make sure you send along a message and invite them to share this event with others.

That’s all there is to it. Now go have a successful event!

Based on the survey results by the Online Marketing and Media Show (OMMS), marketers are no longer focusing their attention on traditional banner advertising but are spending more money on search, email and pay-per-click. (Go figure).

Marketing budgets (and we’re talking about traditional marketing arms, not internet marketers, per se) are increasing in the social media area. One third of poll respondants said that they planned to spend as much as 25% of their dollars (or euros) on online marketing and media this year – a 15 per cent increase from the predicted spend in 2007.

Now the survey didn’t reveal where they are spending their money, my gut tells mme that they are talking about Google adwords and YouTube…

I feel it is very representitive of my overall work and felt it was very important to showcase that work in a frame that did it justice.

I would appreciate any and all comments

Have a great day

Lennie

Even if you’re not a beginner, this book is for you. Why? Because this book will walk you through everything WordPress’ completely revamped version 2.7 has to offer

There are a ton of content management systems out there but in my humble opinion WordPress has a leg up on the competition. On the Web you’ve always had really only two choices.

(A) Become a coder and build a website or (B) use a content management system like Joomla and become a coder. But now with WordPress version 2.7 you can manage everything on your website from one simple administration area. Can you send an e-mail? Then you can use WordPress.

In this guide, I will walk you step-by-step through everything WordPress has to offer. But that’s not all. I have also included a special section in this book called “the keyword primer”. With the keyword primer you will learn how to leverage the power of your WordPress blog to get killer search engine rankings.

Packed with over 60 pages of information, including pictures that cover every step in the process, you will learn to quickly master your WordPress blog.

Isn’t it time to ramp up your presence online? The new paradigm dictates that if you want to do business online, you need a blog! Common wisdom also dictates that if you have a job an hour from home and there is no public transportation, you need a car. But first you need to learn how to drive. Consider this your WordPress blog “driver’s education”.

The developers of the WordPress blog spent over six months completely redesigning and re-engineering WordPress. So, if you’re a beginner, and you need tools to get you started, then this book’s for you. If you’re familiar with Word press and want to make the jump to version 2.7, without the learning curve, then this book’s for you too.

Because I want you to have this book, I’m gonna make a special deal. Looking around the Internet I found an outdated WordPress e-book for $97 and I’m sure it’s still selling. I found another WordPress tutorial e-book, yes, this one is outdated to, but you can have for just $40.32. Well, that kind of sucks doesn’t it. Just what we all want to do, go out and buy a beat up used car for more money than the brand-new one. So here’s a special deal, I want you to have the shiny new car. $27! That’s right, only $27. And the best news, once you buy, you get to download this book immediately and get your WordPress blog working for you.

Imagine driving down a beautiful rural highway when suddenly you see the most extraordinary cow. He’s big, muscular, black and white (like most cows we see) – but he is truly remarkable, unlike any “normal” cow we’ve ever seen. Well, we take note. As we continue to drive we see a few more of these “remarkable” cows. As we see more and more of them, the become less remarkable until we no longer notice them at all.

No imagine that this cow is a bright shiny purple – I think it would be something that we’d  never forget. This is  exactly Seth’s idea.

I started thinking about Seth’s Purple Cow after reading his blog post titled “How to title stuff“.

He gives us 3 ways:

1. Pick a completely descriptive, generic, boring name that precisely describes what’s inside. Like “Shredded Wheat” or “12 Ways to Get Traffic to Your Blog. This is the one  that Google likes. . .
2. Pick a more clever name that’s designed to entice the reader to read the subtitle, or the first few lines of your post. Your visitor likes this one. . .
3. Pick a name that gets talked about. To create a phrase that you hope will enter the vocabulary.

Now I usually try a combo of numbers 1 and 2, but number 3 is pretty powerful. Seth’s is famous for coing the “Purple Cow”.

Seth Says: Yes, that’s my strategy. My goal is to have people call something a Purple Cow or eviscerate the boss for suggesting yet another Meatball Sundae.

Yes, he coined the  term “Meatball Sundae”.

If  for some reason you don’t know about Seth Godin, you are doing yourself a disservice, seek him out, pay attention and learn.

Coming up with a clever title for something you are doing might be one way. Being innovative in the way you do business is something far more powerful!

In his book Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, Seth Godin says that the key to success is to find a way to stand out–to be the purple cow in a field of monochrome Holsteins. Godin himself may be the best example of how this theory works: The marketing expert is a demigod on the Web, a best-selling author, highly sought after lecturer, successful entrepreneur, respected pundit and high-profile blogger. He is uniquely respected for his understanding of the Internet, and his essays and opinions are widely read and quoted online and off.”

Forbes.com

Well, let me spell it out for you. Linkbaiting is a method to get other sites to link to your site. There are a lot of ways to do this including, giving away tools, having contests, being a really compelling blooger among others.

Darren Rowse gives us a pretty good list of linkbaiting techniques on Problogger.com.

In his list he includes some things like controversy and attack (to create controversy). Controversy maybe, but  if you are running a business site, the attack method may not be the best plan.

Zaadz is an alternative to the usual Social Networking sites. They go so far to have a button on the bottom of every page proclaiming themselves “100% Organic”! You notice the differences immediately between Zaadz and sites like Care2 (another “green” site) and Friendster when you start the process of registering for a Zaadz account.

When you click “you! (join now)” link (there version of register for an account), you must in mind agree to the Zaadz principles. Zaadz principles are: Harmony, Integrity, Peace, Trust, Truth, Unity and Finally, Love. You agree to these principles by clicking each word in a series of circles that resembles a flower.

On this page they explain the reason why. They explain that they are different than most other online communities. They are committed to the principles inside the circles.

They ask tht before you join to take a moment and commit (by clicking the circles), to these principles. Once you do (after all they are all great concepts) you’re in.

So, is there a way to both serve this community and grow your business? You bet there is. Zaadz is the place to take advantage of the emerging green economy. Never has there been a place where so many socially conscious and active individuals meet and hang out in one place. The Green Economy, which I will here officially name Green 2.0, is growing by leaps and bounds. Some experts are predicting that the green economy will overshadow the dot com boom.

Here are 5 things you can do to guide these socially minded people to your business:

1. Create a Meaningful Profile – Just like the other social network sites (Friendster and Myspace for example) you first create a profile. The content you add to this profile is extremely important. Remember this is the first thing other members will see about you and your business. You only get one chance to make a first impression. Make your profile complete. Add a cool title for yourself. Hard to explain but they will give you some examples like (Philosopher or Thinker), just go with it. Add a good description about you and your services in the about me section. Remember be complete.

Add Some Friends – Like the other social networking sites, you can add friends. Click the “Zaadzsters” link and use the search feature to find people with a similar taste in music. By adding friends, you increase your reach. Remember the seven Zaadz principles, you are not here only to benefit yourself, you are here to share. By adding friends on Zaadz, you are connecting with many new people that have like interests, goals and dreams.

3. Add an Event – Debuting your new Service? Build your own events page and invite all your new Zaadz friends. On this page you can add a link to your site and it even add a link to a Google Map. Marketing doesn’t get much easier (or more inexpensive!) than this.

4. Post a Blog – With your Zaadz account, you get a blog. Here is where you get to add really compelling and meaningful content overflowing with brilliant insight for your fellow community members. This doesn’t have to be directly about you or your business but rather about the bigger picture that your business products/services address. For example, if you are a Plummer, don’t write about what you offer, write about the importance of good plumbing and home care.

5. Join a Pod (Zaadz Group) – Browse Pods or use the Pod Tag feature to find a couple of pods that you fit into. Join and share your plans, your goals, your business with the other members. Share consciously, no one wants to be battered with a sales pitch on the first meeting. That’s not the goal here. The goal is to network with a group of like minded individuals, who, once you earn their trust, may very well become some of the best emissaries for you, your message and your products/services.

Since the beginning, Zaadz has been labeled with a “New Age” tag. In my opinion, this is not a bad thing. After all, we are in a New Age of Green and Social Consciousness marketing and business. Go Green 2.0.
———-
Lennie Appelquist is the Owner of FreeMarket Media Group. FreeMarket Media Group is dedicated to helping individuals and small businesses generate leads, convert those leads in customers/clients and build a web presence that works for them. We can show you how to make your online business profitable – IMMEDIATELY. Wanna open a FREE account on Zaadz? Click here to join me on Zaadz!

Google’s commitment to “green” means that the company sources carpet and sofas made without PVC, paints without volatile organic compounds, and cafeteria food from local growers. It’s not surprising, then, that they would roll out the largest commercial solar deployment in the US—a 1.6MW installation that covers most of the buildings at Google’s campus and extends even to shaded parking spaces. At the ETech conference in San Diego this week, Google’s Anthony Ravitz explained how Google did it, and why.

The move to solar made sense for Google, and not just “hippie Gaia-loving” sense. Ravitz said that Google will earn its investment back in 7.5 years, after which it will continue to enjoy inexpensive power for decades. With the company sprawled across a large campus of many low buildings, roof space was easily available. Solar also has the unique property of pumping out more energy when power is the most expensive—peak afternoon hours. When air conditioners across California kick into action on sunny days, Google generates the most power.

On November 28th, 2007, news comes out that Google is going into the green energy business.  Google has been pouring investment money into this sector. Besides investing in solar, wind and geothermal companies, Google will create its own research and development group “to look very aggressively at what we think are some promising technological pathways,” said Bill Weihl, Google’s green energy czar.

Google said that it’ll spend “tens of millions” to research clean-energy alternatives to coal-fired power plants and “hundreds of millions” to cut the costs of this power.

The goal is to produce 1 gigawatt of power from clean power sources – enough to light up a city the size of San Francisco – at a cost that’s the same as if the energy came from low-cost, high-polluting coal.

How soon? “Within years, not decades,” Google co-founder Larry Page wrote in a Web post.

Not much to do with marketing on the web, but good for the earth, don’t you think?

Where will you be on May 31st, June 1st and June 2nd?

I’ll be teaching a SELECT group of people the EXACT methods I’ve used to bring myself from a Vacuum Cleaner sales person to earning over $35,000,000 and I’ll add another $15,000,000 to that figure this YEAR ALONE!

Want to know how I do it? It’s not what you think!!!

Click This Link To Find Out…
http://www.freedomfactor.com

(more…)

I mean, EVERY “Product Launch” these days promises some sort of Secret, or Competitive Edge, or Unfair Advantage. Those phrases are getting pretty tired. Tired, old, ugly, and annoying, actually. It got to be a little ridiculous.

Here’s what I think… (more…)