Using Twitter To Make Connections

When Twitter started a couple years ago, I really fought the urge to add yet another social networking site to my list of things to keep up with. Like Marshall Kirkpatrick said in his post How We Use Twitter for Journalism, I thought Twitter was the stupidest thing ever. I was wrong. When I wrote my last post about social networking sites, I had just started becoming more active with Twitter and was getting a feel of how things work. I've actually had an account for awhile, but completely forgot about it. However, now I can say that I am a big fan of Twitter and highly recommend it to anyone in business. I was so caught up in Twitter fever that I even wrote a Twitter Haiku to profess my love ;) The best way I can describe Twitter is: Instant messaging on crack - but, it's good crack ;) I also like to think of it as micro-blogging. I've been able to reconnect with people I've known before Twitter came into my life, like Jeanette Fisher and Rosa Say. I've also discovered other great bloggers who are connected to them. My original title for this post was, "How to Market Your Online Business on Twitter" - and yes, you can do that, but I think first and foremost it's about connecting with people. Start up a conversation. Really get to know people. Help people out by providing resources that will help them. You'll discover that when you provide value, people will take an interest in you and want to see what you're all about. Mari Smith has some great tips for Twitter beginners. I also really like this video: Twitter in Plain English. Update: Here are more great thoughts about Twitter and Business by Laura Spencer... Are you on Twitter? Let's connect! If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

Wanted: Guest Bloggers For Customer Service Blog

You may or may not know that I have a customer service blog called "Customers Are Always" over at Know More Media. Because I've been a bit busy working on a book, I haven't had much time to keep the blog updated like I used to. Besides, I think it's time to add a few fresh voices to the blog and share their thoughts and opinions on customer service! Have a great customer service story to tell? Want to share some lessons or tips from a bad customer service experience? There are over 500 subscribers waiting to read what you have to say... If you're interested in doing a guest post, send me an email: maria [at] customersarealways [dot] com.

How Motivated Are You?

That's the question that Lee McIntyre posed in his post, The Pitfalls of the Internet Lifestyle. Motivation seems to be the theme for the month. A couple weeks ago I offered some tips on how to stay motivated. This morning I posted a tweet at Twitter saying that I had many articles to write today - which prompted a response from someone who said that she hoped my motivation would rub off on her. Well, it made me pause and think: What motivates me? What is it that makes me wake up and want to write all these articles every day? Have you ever asked yourself these questions? What do you hope to gain from this adventure in entrepreneurship? Writing is second nature for me. Tiger Woods has golf and I have my writing. I find excitement in being able to put thoughts and ideas out there that could inspire others or make people think about life and business from another perspective. So many ideas come to me on a daily basis and I need some kind of outlet to share them. At least if I don't take action on any of these ideas, then perhaps someone out there will read them and be inspired to do something. Aside from the obvious answer - which would be money for many people - why do you do what you do? If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

How I Used Social Network Marketing To Build My Blog Empire

When it comes to online marketing there are many buzz words going around - two of which are "social media marketing" and "social network marketing". I learned from David Meerman Scott that there is a distinct difference in meaning between these two phrases. What I'd like to cover here is social network marketing which in the online world means internet marketing via communities or online portals. If you really think about it, social network marketing has been around for many, many years. It's really nothing new. As Mary Schmidt says,"Here’s the good news. You’re already doing it. Here’s the bad news. You’re already doing it." People would, and still do, attend networking functions and meet people in person. They walk around a room and go from person to person introducing themselves and handing out business cards. However, nowadays people are doing all of this online - except now all the networking is done from the comfort of their own homes...or the nearest internet cafe. Online Marketing Is Fun Again There are tons of places online where you can meet people while marketing your business at the same time. The best thing about doing this type of online marketing is that it's fun and it's free. I've gone the Pay-Per-Click route and tried out Google Adwords, but I think connecting with people on a more personal level creates loyal customers versus a one-time transaction from a Google Adwords lead who may not come back to your website - unless of course, you're very good at following-up with customers. When you join social networking communities, you're actively engaging with people whether it be making comments, sharing pictures, sharing information, voting, and all the other ways that you can communicate your thoughts and ideas. It's About Connecting With People You can leverage the power of online network communities to market your personal brand or business. It's no longer about finding places where your target market is hanging out because the truth of the matter is, they're everywhere online nowadays. And you never know, that online marketing guru you met in an online marketing forum may just know someone who needs what you have to offer - even if you are selling bird cages! That's why it's so important nowadays to connect with people and find out who they really are...as people...and not just "another lead". Social Networking Sites To Try Now For the past few years I've been using social networking sites as the only way to market my businesses. Here are a few that I like and recommend: MyBlogLog - The newest version of MyBlogLog allows you to follow what your friends are blogging about and it's all displayed on your main page. If your friends have their other social networking accounts linked up to it, you can also see what else they've been doing around the internet. I like MyBlogLog because I can quickly get a glance of stats for all of my blogs. Here's a video tutorial showing the basics of MyBlogLog... Facebook - This is probably the one site where I spend most of my time. I use this networking site to keep in touch with family and close friends, but I also use it to connect with business associates and customers as well. Here's a good video tutorial about Facebook for internet marketing... Stumbleupon - A great site to keep up with other people's favorite websites. You can also use it to submit your website and get more traffic. Stumbleupon has been instrumental in bringing a tremendous amount of traffic to my blogs. I also use it to discover websites on topics that I'm interested in. I like this video that explains the workings of Stumbleupon and how you can use it to market your business. YouTube - People love going to YouTube to watch videos and I love to use YouTube to market my blogs! You may or may not remember the success affirmations video I created awhile back. I posted that on YouTube and of course, included a link to this blog to get people to visit if they wanted to learn more about becoming more successful with their business. How have you used social network marketing to attract more customers to your business? I'd love to hear your thoughts... Related Posts: Online Marketing: The Real Way to Do It Blogging For Business: Two Lessons You Need To Know Some Things You May Not Know About Online Shoppers Top Photo Credit: Matthieu Mingasson If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

The Secret Is Out: Problogger the Book

For those of you who follow Darren Rowse's blog, Problogger, you're probably fascinated with this idea of making money with blogging. I've been reading his blog for the past couple years and have implemented his tips and strategies to start my own blogging empire. (Can you believe I'm up to 14 blogs now!?!) I've never met Darren, but I consider him at the top of the list of blogging mentors. Well, now Darren and another phenomenal blogger, Chris Garrett, has come out with a book, ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income. It's available for pre-order at Amazon.com ($16.49 plus an extra 5% discount on pre-orders). Related Posts: Blogging For Business 101: Two Lessons You Need to Know 101 Ways to Monetize Your Blog and My Top Income Streams For 2007 Blogger Tools You Should Never Leave Without 5 Old School Ways to Find Blog Readers and Build Community Q & A With Chris Garrett Part 1 Q & A With Chris Garrett Part 2 If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

Your Internet Business: Staying Motivated When You Feel Like Giving Up

Building an internet business can be tough at times, especially if you're a one person business like me. You have to do everything from answering emails to updating your blog and websites plus do all the marketing and PR on top of that. Don't get me wrong, though. I love what I do. However, sometimes there are days when you just don't feel very motivated or you feel like giving up. Fortunately, I've only experienced one or two days like that in my seven plus years of having my own internet business, but I know that there are many of you out there who are running on fumes. Well, Yaro Starak has come to save the day with an inspiring post to give you some encouragement. Check out his post, How to Remain Productive When You Feel Like Giving Up. I know you're probably wondering how I keep myself inspired. I wake up every morning and look forward to getting on the computer and working. However, there are a few things I do to keep myself motivated... Boost the Entrepreneurial Spirit With Positive Affirmations If you've been reading this blog for some time now you know that one of the things I like to do is say positive affirmations to myself in the morning when I wake up. Sometimes I'll say them during the day when I'm feeling less than energetic. It's interesting what happens when I say these affirmations out loud or write them down. I immediately feel this shift in attitude. I like to call it "positive brainwashing". Listen to Motivational Speakers Even watching a short video of a motivational speaker like Brian Tracy is enough to get me excited about my business. Here's Brian Tracy talking about entrepreneurs and persistence... Remember that words are powerful! Create a Vision Board For Your Business I remember sitting with a very successful real estate broker and he showed me his vision board that had pictures of what his ideal life would look like. I didn't quite understand the concept back then until I watched the movie, The Secret. I now have a vision board and a vision book where I've posted pictures of things I want to buy when I reach the multi-million dollar mark with my internet businesses. I have also written affirmations on my vision board like, "I create multiple streams of income now" and "I have a successful jewelry business". Here are three more ways to stay motivated with your internet business...