A Blog in the Closet

A new blog. There, I’ve said it. It’s what I want for Christmas. This is a nice blog, but there are a lot of other things I want to talk about that aren’t “business” related. So I believe I am going to keep going here, AND start another blog. But my fear is that somebody will laugh at what I have to say, or no one will comment, or any number of other reasons people don’t do things!

When I started my business several years ago someone asked me what my long term goals were for my business. And I quietly answered that one of my goals was to have a blog that a lot of people read every day. I hadn’t thought of that until recently, and I would really like to try and talk about some other things that are going on in my life. My plan is to start writing over “there” and get going and then come back and tell you about it. You won’t mind, will you? In the meantime, I’ll be chatting along right here and it will be just like always.

Here is my plan:

• Finalize the name of the blog and get the right URL.
• Create my blog with the Builder theme from ithemes.
• Start blogging.

I think that’s it. It’s mostly still in the uncongealed stage (like Jello), but I’d really like to get this baby up and going soon. Just wanted to tell you what is going on in my head these days. Now it’s like I’m committed.

3 Creative Ways to Express Gratitude

Last November I participated in the 30 Days of Thanks from my blog. It was a great opportunity for me to publicly express gratitude each day for all the wonderful blessings in my life. This year I continue expressing gratitude, and thought I would share some things that I do that might be interesting to know.

1. The ABC Game: Sometimes I get down in the dumps about what is going on around me. It might be a disagreement with someone, or just feeling sorry for myself. Often this comes upon me in the middle of the night when things really seem so much worse. (That’s not just me, is it?) Here is what I do- turn it all around and think of the positive things in that situation and play “The ABC Game.” I take whatever the scenario is. Let’s say I have less than happy thoughts about someone. I give serious consideration to the wonderful qualities in that person and run through the alphabet naming a quality that person has that begins with each letter. “She is adorable, beautiful, clever, dear, ebullient, friendly, gracious, happy…” and you get the picture. Sometimes I have to go through the alphabet a time or two. Or three. But by the end of the exercise I am content and feeling good about the person or situation.
2. Gratitude Journal: At night before bed, crawl up in bed with a pretty journal book and nice pen and just start writing what you are grateful for that day. Even if all you seem to be grateful for is that it rained that day and you didn’t have to water. Once you start writing you will find that you really have a lot of things to be grateful for. I did this for a couple of months and it made me sleep better, because by the time I was through with the exercise, I was feeling positive and full of, well, gratitude! Try to write 3 things each night. (Of course you know what happens next…more good starts to come into your life. It always does.)
3. Do something unexpected for someone: In today’s world we are busy and often don’t take the time to really connect. One of the key motivators in my life is spending time with family and friends, so I take time to do so. It might be a phone call to someone I haven’t talked to in a while. It may be a card or letter. Over and over I hear people say how much they appreciate me making the effort to stay in touch. And I know when someone calls me up or sends me an email out of the blue how wonderful it makes me feel. So, take some time to spend time with those you love. Maybe throw a little party for your friends that you LOVE being around. I’m talking open the chips, store bought dip, and something to drink. Tell each of them how much you enjoy their company and what you love most about them. It doesn’t matter if they don’t know each other. After going around the room, each person will see these new friends as the fabulous people that you see.

Go on now. Express some gratitude!

Co-Working on a Broken Laptop

Today is a big day at UnCommon Sense Marketing! I just put the final touches on the premier issue of my marketing newsletter. Thanks to my new VA, it’s coming to an email inbox near you. Like many of you, I receive newsletters from other people and enjoy what information I can, when I can. So, maybe you’ll like what I have to say each month.

Here’s something else that’s new: a new office space that I am working from 2 or 3 days each week. It’s a co-working space downtown, and totally awesome. It’s in an old warehouse with great brick walls inside and high ceilings, open seating with movable wood walls to separate desks as needed. In just a couple of hours each day I can get through a lot more work than if I was at home. Well, I could if my old laptop was acting right.

A couple years ago I took my laptop in to have the geeky boys clean off a bunch of trash and it came back in a somewhat compromised condition. That’s what led me to purchasing it’s big brother last summer: the nice desktop. (oooo!) That relegated the bad laptop to it’s backpack in my hall closet. Bad Laptop. Until my new, glorious office appeared. Bring out the laptop and try, try, TRY to work. PLEASE! So, after much cursing and rebooting, I’ve determined that either I need to reload everything on my system or buy a new laptop. Stay tuned to find out how this ends.

(Oh, in case you want to read my new monthly newsletter, you can go to my website and sign up. Love to have you!)

Facebook Page Love

I’m doing the happy dance here at the Casa de Kinnaird. Today on my call (Facebook: Nobody ‘Likes’ Me!) I had so many new callers and tons of questions at the end. Those of you who were there *live* – a big thank you! You are the reason I do this. Clearly this was a hot topic as lots of new people signed up in the last 2 or 3 days. Maybe at the end of the year there should be another Facebook call. What would you like me to focus on next time?

For those of you who aren’t on my list (why aren’t you on my list…?) my call focused on the recent changes to Facebook Pages and 5 Ways to get more Facebook Page love. In other words, how to get more fans to ‘like’ you. I actually had 6 main points and about 6 or 8 subpoints for each of those, so all in all, you got your money’s worth for your investment of an hour. If you’d like to hear the replay you can register here. That will give you the links to ALL the past calls and you will be invited to the rest of the monthly calls in 2010.

Another hot topic that people are asking me about is Marketing. In fact, I am creating a series of marketing articles to be published soon, so stay tuned for the links to that. Some of that information will make it onto next month’s call about Marketing Basics: What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You. Some will get to my blog. Once I get started it’s hard to stop me from talking about it. Kind of like Facebook!

Won’t you leave me some more Facebook love and let me know what information you want to hear more about as it relates to Facebook? I appreciate it.

Telling the Truth or TMI?

When is telling the truth just too much information? Over the weekend my husband and I returned from a really nice 10-day vacation. Although it’s been planned for over a year AND we had a laptop with us, I never mentioned it on Facebook (or Twitter, or in a blog post, etc.) It’s one thing that I always caution those in my seminars about. Be careful what you say – when leaving town it always seems to me like I am announcing, “Come burgle me!” So I just did very minimal posting during my vacation – (hello? vacation.)

There are a lot of things we might consider NOT talking about on Facebook or social media outlets. Good judgment should always be used and do like I tell my children: act as if Grandma were reading your posts. I’ll be writing more about that soon. That’s not to say you shouldn’t have SOME personal touch; remember that social media is about the know-like-and trust factor. Letting people get to know you is a key part of it. And that would include vacations, hobbies, pets and kids. But, I am much happier telling you when I return that I’ve been gone, instead of announcing it to my Friends and potentially their Friends before I leave or while I am gone.  We’ve all heard those stories about people who announced they were leaving on Facebook and actually WERE burgled.

Now, you are probably thinking, “Oh boy! Amy is going to post some great pictures or videos from her vacation.” And you would be right to hope that. Unfortunately, I don’t take many pictures but I will have some in an album in Facebook and will post some short videos I took (6-10 seconds long!) at various points. It’s hard to capture the beauty of the mountains, so I only took a few. I’ll leave you with one of the last parting shots from Breckenridge. We go every other summer and enjoy it tremendously. Especially this year when it was about 40 degrees cooler than back at home.

What do you think about posting when you are leaving for vacations? I see everyone doing it, but it still bothers me. Leave me your comments!

Using Videos As Marketing Tools

Last week I had the opportunity to speak to a group of Realtors in California. Mostly the subject was how to use Facebook to market their businesses, but it seems like my conversations always stray to using videos. Any business could create videos that would be helpful in building a relationship with their clients. People love to watch videos, and they help build that Know-Like-Trust factor that I always talk about. When I can SEE you it makes you more real, more authentic. I can relate to you better. And then I might be more inclined to listen to you and ultimately buy something from you. Remember, people buy from people they like.

Here are a few examples of things you could do.

• Video tour of your business. Lots of times people are uncomfortable about just walking in the door. Help them feel more comfortable by showing them what they will see. This works great for a restaurant, church, attorney, or mortgage lender.
• The realtors could walk through the houses that they have listed and point out really neat features
• Video testimonials from happy clients
• Demonstrate your products if applicable. Sometimes a technical explanation is easier if you can show somebody how something works.
• Introduce them to people in your office who they talk to, or who make their products, or who provide the services.
• Create a video of works in process – great for builders, designers, artists
• Instead of writing your blog or tips, create a video occasionally and let your followers watch you tell them the information
• and lots more! During my sessions with clients we really come up with some interesting ideas during brainstorming.

Remember that smiling, happy faces will likely sell more. It’s not important to be fresh from the salon or have on your best duds, although a little comb through the hair wouldn’t hurt! Now put on that thinking cap and come up with some other great ideas. The videos needn’t be more than a minute and a half or two minutes long. Any longer and you will start to lose people.

Share some other good ideas with me in the comments. I need the love!

The Power of Speaking

Here’s what I love to do: speak to groups – any size will do. Just show me the front of the room, hand me a microphone, and I’m ready to go. Here’s what else I like to do: teach business owners things they need to know to help their companies.  The last 18 months I have done a lot of speaking and teaching. Hundreds of people have heard me talk about how to market their businesses using Social Media. It’s a hot topic everywhere, and it’s been fun to share ideas. There are always new things popping up since Facebook changes about every week. (Which I can appreciate from a technology standpoint, but it makes it hard for the average bear to keep their arms around!)

Here’s what I love about speaking to groups: people are pretty much the same everywhere. They are hard working, they have families that they want to spend more time with, they wish the economy was better, and they know they should be doing more marketing but aren’t sure how to go about it. They want to laugh at a joke, talk about themselves, and enjoy the company of others. What keeps them up at night varies, but something always keeps them up at night. There is some pain in his or her business and it is up to each entrepreneur with a product or service to offer to find out what that problem(s) is and help them find a solution.

If you aren’t speaking to audiences now, you might consider adding this to your giant list of to-do’s. Here are a couple of reasons why.

• Instead of one-to-one marketing this is one-to-many. Time well spent!
• This is a great way to be seen as an expert
• The questions participants ask will keep you on your toes and make you dig in deeper on your subject matter
• While you aren’t always “allowed” to sell, you do have the opportunity to talk about how you have helped other clients in your various programs, which gets the point across.
• You can build your contact list with people who have attended your presentations. I have a sign up sheet or do a giveaway for those interested.
• You make wonderful new business contacts who know a lot of people who need what you have to offer. Can you say “referral marketing?”

Every town has weekly or monthly networking meetings with various groups. Ask your friends which ones they belong to and ask if they will bring you as a guest.  You will have a chance to introduce yourself and that in itself could spark the interest.   Check in with your local SBA or SBDC and get a list of groups. They all need speakers regularly. Some will be free and some could be paid. To get started you will likely do a lot of free talks, but then your name starts to get around and the phones will start ringing. Meet the people in charge of putting on conferences, or volunteer to teach continuing education courses through your local University.

I’d love to hear where you are speaking. Leave me a comment, okay?

Getting it all done

Small business owners are drowning. They have too much to do and too little time to do it. They wear all the hats in their companies and often things just don’t get done. A typical work day is much longer than 8 hours, and more than 5 days per week is the norm. Until…they discover and implement the ideas I am sharing here.

1. Systems

Picture this: You want to send out a newsletter to everyone on your contact list. This should happen once a month, but because it takes so much focused time and you can’t remember all the steps, you end up spending more time than necessary, and are probably forgetting some things. Enter “the system.” If you write down all the steps you have to take to create the newsletter and file it in an easy to find spot, then next month, you pull the sheet and quickly go down through each step. No more worry about forgetting something. No time wasted thinking and rethinking. And the best part? Now you are ready for step 2.

2. Delegating

Once you have a documented system you can hire someone to go through each step for you. Any decisions that need to be made are documented with the way to make the decision. Once a month that person pulls the list of to-do’s for the newsletter and does this for you. Voila! Now, you can spend that time doing something at which you are brilliant and are making more money than what you are paying for the person now sending out your newsletter.

Next week I am thrilled to have my good friend Jessica Maes joining me as a guest for this month’s call. She knows all about delegating and will sharing lots of great information so that you can go from overwhelmed to in control of your time. Your business and your family will thank you! If you aren’t already receiving invites to my complimentary teleseminars, you can register here. Bonus: you will have access to all the MP3 recordings of each previous call in 2010.

Join us to learn how you can finally get it all done.

Social Media Changed Communication in the 21st Century

Deborah Hanchey over at My WP Works recently completed the Virtual Event Specialist program through the VA Classroom and offered to try out her new skills for me. I, of course, chose to talk about my favorite subject: social media.

We cover a lot of ground in 17 minutes, from statistics, to why you need social media, to how to plan your social media activity.

It’s all valuable information, so please take a look. I’d love your feedback!

Savvy Advice

While sorting through some emails I had saved, I found one I had sent to my son and daughter who, at the time, were a recent high school and a college graduate. The content  in the email came from a blog post written by Savvy Auntie. (Please click to read the original) The ideas are timeless, and always bear repeating, whether for your personal life or your business life.

Here are my favorite points.

1) Save for your dream. It’s coming

Do not spend money on things you really do not need. Save it for your legacy. It’s coming. Wait for it.

2) Be nice. To everyone.

You never know how the dots in your life will connect. People come into your life when they do for a reason. Don’t be arrogant and think that people with whom you do not connect with right away are not the final connection in the future to securing what you need.

3) Be ready to help anyone at any time.

People often ask me for help. Sometimes it’s business related, sometimes, it’s not. Either way, I thank them for the opportunity to help. Selfishly, I know it’s coming right back to me, by just the right person, at just the right time, just when I need it. And that never fails.

4) You’re not entitled to feel entitled

You’ve got to earn your respect. Listen before your talk. Really. Listen. Listen good and hard. There is a lot to learn out there. The minute you think you know better, or know everything, is the minute you begin to fail. Learning is the key to success. Learning is the fuel that drives inspiration. When you listen, you learn.

5) Read

Read something that will teach you about how best to succeed in your field of choice, every day. Find blogs that guide you. Buy books that teach you. Read the news. Read. Read. Read. And bookmark the pages you want to read again. Read one business book every two weeks. Read one business blog post every day. Read one business magazine once a month. Just read. If you are blogging more than you are reading, you’re not listening. You’re talking. So read.

Thank you, Savvy Auntie, for sharing!