Twitter is an easy to use and powerful networking tool. Used correctly, it allows you to get information, disseminate information, keep prospects, patients, clients and customers informed and to build and solidify relationships. I’m also a big facebook fan. But I found a video blog by Tom Foster’s Foster Web Marketing www.fosterwebmarketing.com that walks you through the set up of a twitter account, getting information and using the site, and how to build a marketing presence using Twitter.
And, I find Twitter and Facebook to be great tools for giving more back to clients in an efficient and non intrusive way. Build your business by giving more value.
I like all three videos in the series but if you’re new to Twitter and want to spend three minuets to catapult your strategic use of the tool just watch this below.
If you enjoyed Malcom Gladwell’s books Blink and The Tipping Point be sure to take a peek at Malcom’s speech to Pop Tech. This is a review of some ideas that he’ll be examining in his newest book Outliers: The Story of Success. Malcom has a unique way of thinking about things. Be sure to ask yourself: How can I use this strategy/information in my own business?
Have you experienced a reduction in revenues since the economy started freezing up in July?
Have you fallen victim to the ostrich approach of not paying attention and/or denying that the state of the economy effects you? Or, have you adopted the opposite problem mindset of becoming so obsessed with bad economic news that failure becomes a self fulfilling prophecy?
Then take a deep breath (see my earlier post on a breathing technique that can make you calm and sane in seconds even in the face of chaos) and read on. But, if you think things are hopeless, then don’t bother because what follows may disturb you and force you to accept personal responsibility for actually growing or stabilizing sales in the face of a very bad economy. That’s right. There may be a way to do more - much more about sagging sales.
However, while there is no one way to dramatically change things for the better a number of little things may combine to get you big results. Dan Kennedy describes this in his quote “Little hinges swing big doors.” So what are a few things that we can implement today to improve the bottom line in 2009?
Do you ship products? If you do, make sure that you include an order form that stands out in every package that you ship. Existing customers are the msot likely to buy more from you without a long sales cycle.
Do you offer web based ordering of products or services? If not, do it. And, if you do, then make sure that your thank you page offers the customer a deal on another product or bundle f products and services. Turn that single sale into a much more profitable sale.
Do you offer payment terms or to split a purchase between one or more credit cards? Since people’s card limits are being reduced this may be a big help to them…. and to you.
Do you target your advertising by using direct mail rather than generic or brand type advertising? If you do direct mailings to existing customers with offers, you can track the results and spend the more limited advertising dollars more effectively.
Do you have a news letter or stay in regular contact with customers? Start. Many studies have shown that businesses lose about ten percent of customers every month after a sale that goes by without contact.
There are many many more ways to increase sales in this difficult times. If you have enjoyed these let me know and I’ll post more.
Be wary though of the “I do that already effect.” Make sure, that you are really doing it. Make sure that you’re not referring to something that you tried once, and half heartedly five years ago.
And, you don’t have to take my word on the effectiveness of these techniques. Test everything and repeat and expand what works!
If you’ve been reading, you know I’m a fan of giving away the great stuff. Eben Pagan (just saw Eben in St Louis) encourages information marketers and savvy business people to find their best secrets and to give them away. Give your customers your best information - the stuff that always works. They love you for it. They know you’re great and that your ideas and techniques work, and they become raving fans.
Well Pamela Brown - The Seinfeld Show publicist thinks like that too. On a recent flight, we were discussing social media, pr, and how to achieve better exposure. I told her I was using some paid servces - mentioned in the last blog entry. It was then that she told me that many reporters, publicists, producers and other media savvy types were using Peter Shankman’s new site www.helpareporter.com (HARO - Help A Reporter Out).
This site works both ways. If you’re trying to become an expert, get interviews, etc. you can contact reporters, authors, producers and others who post questions in your areas of expertise. If you need resources, experts, interview subjects, you can post a project and deadline.
If you use this site -either way, for research, or to get the public relations exposure you want, be respectful. Contact only those where you are a good match and have solid content and information to offer.
This is a powerful resource. Let me know about your experiences.
David M Frees
www.redwirepress.com
Do you want to start using social sites and a blog to stay in touch with clients, friends, and customers?
Want to get notices, invitations, and valuable information out the the crew quickly and efficiently?
How about triggering that curiosity that draws people to these sites and start reaching them “where they now live”?
It may be easier than you think.
Once you have established your presence, start using the urls of your Facebook, LinkedIn or other social sites in your signature line. When you email others high quality or interesting content they’ll be interested and making the sites eay to find will generate interest and action.
Here is an example:
David M. Frees III, Esq.
Attorney, Author, And Enhanced Communications Skills Guru
Another strategic use of your new an enhanced sig line is to begin posting high quality and smart comments on blogs related to your field or where your prospects live. Good content always draws attention and curiosity. By making it easy for them to find your blog or content, you have started the process of becoming an authority that people will turn to in your area of expertise.
I’m still waiting to hear from Pam about publishing her pr secret.
In hard economic times, many businesses, authors, and professionals turn to PR as an alternative to advertising or as a supplement to a reduced advertising campaign. But, smart business people make public relations and cultivating media contacts and exposure a regular part of any business marketing plan in good as well as bad times.
And, if you are trying to establish yourself as an authority, celebrity, or expert, then public relations has to be in the bag of tricks.
The key (among others) to getting successful and productive media attention is being professional and being in the right place at the right time. So, many of us use a paid service to be alerted to media and reporter needs. Through these services, (such as profnet) you get an email alert when an author, producer, or reporter is looking for information, interviews or sources related to topics that you have chosen in advance. Great preparation and good timing of your contact well in advance of the deadline often lands you and interview, appearance or mention.
Well, I recently had the pleasure of flying with Pamela Brown, a new york based publicist with some great clients (including the roving Seinfeld Show) and some great ideas. I’m a fan of giving people some of the best things that I know. I want you to be successful and to think of me when you need more.
And Pamela is a smart cookie, thinks the same way and shared some great ideas. When I hire my next publicist, she’s my first call. But the best secret that she gave me? I have to get her permission to share it - it’s that good. More to follow. And as soon as I hear from her I’m pushing the button to publish!
Have you ever felt the pressure rising in your body or where your face got hot? Ever notice that you were getting more and more stressed out? This often happens to us and we don’t notice until it’s too late. Is that good for business? Does it impair the quality of your life?
Think about it for a second, can you remember a specific time when you notice it before you blew up or shut down? Or, when you noticed that you just were not thinking clearly any more? Clarity of thought is vital to the maximum success in business and to the maximum enjoyment of life. And, the ability to be “in the moment” and to really experience life without being distracted by memories, regrets, fears of the past and worries about the future is a life skill worth cultivating and experiencing.
And, those who have had this experience, however fleeting, realize just how powerful it can be. When you are really clear you are not deceived or seduced by the past. You are able to think clearly and as a consequence, you don’t just enjoy life more profoundly, you really do get better results.
So, as you know I’m not fond of the books, chapters, articles that just tell us what to do. They are a dime a dozen. I like resources that tell you how -at least one way - to actually do something. I have enough confidence that you can then experiment and learn from experience and make improvements of your own.
So, how do you cultivate calm, serenity and clarity in the face of the brute force and pressures of day to day business and life?
Breathing. Breathing is one of the few bodily functions that is both unconscious (most of the time we aren’t thinking about it) and conscious. When we do think about it we can controll it. And as we change the way we breath, we create profound changes in our body’s neuro transmittors and how we feel. and, how you feel can have a dramatic effect on the clariy of your thought.
One specific way of breathing with proven effect is an exercise known as “The fourfold breath” but you can use any exercise of breathing (also known as pranayama).
This is, simply speaking, a rhythmic pattern of breathing: 1) Inhale to the count of four (filling your belly first then the lungs with air) 2) Hold your breath for the count of two, 3) Completely empty your lungs and belly of all air to the count of four, and 4) Hold your empty lungs to the count of two and then repeat the entire process.
As Ron Hale Evans said in his awesome book - Mind Performance Hacks, the Four Fold Breath is a useful way of “…gaining clarity and rationality when you’re stressed or panicked..” It is he observes “…a sort of emergency first aid for clear thinking.”
That book, has a great practical description of the process as Mind Hack #59.
Try this one. when you get good, you can do this unnoticed and in public. You will find that you do get clarity, reduce stress and the effects of pressure and anxiety, Get bullied by a person at work. Try this. Teenager driving you to distraction where you bahve less than optimally. Try it. Get the butterflies before a speech or negotiation - you get it…try this.
You will become a more resourceful, energetic yet tranquil and clear thinker.
Let me know what you think and how you begin to feel.
I love to read. I always have. And, if you’re like me, we have plenty of smart cookies in our ranks of the readers. Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were addicted to both reading and their libraries.
However, there is a point where reading - blogs (other than this one), books, articles, and watching videos - however well intentioned begins to interfere with actually getting things done. You are, to paraphrase greater thinker than me, living the thoughts of others rather than developing and acting on your own.
Curiosity about ideas can and does sometimes eclipse action. And, if you want to accomplish things in your life, make money, help others, and support yourself and your loved ones then action is essential.
So, to help me both maximize the pleasure of reading non fiction and get the most real world benefit, I have developed a process that really helps me to get results.
This process has developed through the years and changes with time. There are many people to credit including my Grand Mother and my parents through the most recent contribution form Eben Pagan. And, while some of this may seem obvious or may already be second nature just play along and get to the end. I promise a few “keepers” as ideas go.
First, when I start, I read the flap, and the chapter headings and sub headings as well as any checklists or chapter reviews at the end of each chapter. This gives you the structure used by the authore and alerts you as to what to mine from the book.
At this point I ask myself “as I read what ideas can I discover that can make me… (insert here - more money?, greater happiness? a better spouse, parent or friend? you get the idea. Discover and articulate your reason for reading this particular book and you will engage the Reticular Activating System of your brain and you may discover unexpected surprises.
Then, I read in more detail and put a post it note by important passages or ideas. I use a red note for information or research I might want to cite in an article or blog. I use a green one for ideas that I want to implement that should increase profitability. These might include marketing ideas, product or service ideas.
I put a blue tag (or highlight if that is your thing) by any passages or ideas for my personal life suhc as places to go, things I want to attend (perhaps a tradeshow or annual meeting is mentioned). Finally, I also note quotes that I like or want to use.
I am always myself and making a note of what persuades me as I read. Notice the persuasive techniques and language of others. And, I note what is important to me. I know, that I am not my customer but many of my clients and customers have similar interests.
Finally, and this is where we transition from just reading to getting real world benefits, I have a “HIT LIST” sitting by my side. This is a list of specific actions that I will take when I am done reading for the day or when I am done the book.
When I am done for the day I always evalute the list. Sometimes, something that seemed great in the heat for the moment seems silly or difficult to implement upon reflection. But, of the items that I am committed to doing, I always schedule time - right then and there- in my calendar to do them. That is, I have already taken an action. I have built momentum. The thing seems more real and important when it is in the calendar and you are more likely to act.
That is, in fact, how this blog entry got done. I set time aside last week to do it after I read a passage in Changing the Channel.
There is more to this process but that is enough for now.
I usually just make the recommendation when I see something good or interesting but so many people asked where the link was for the book that I include it here for ease of ordering.
David Frees • 
9:44 pm • 
