5 Tools To Monitor What’s Said About You
Naymz, http://naymz.com – Let's your references to leave you reviews and build your online reputation
Google Alerts, http://google.com/alerts - Let's you create keyword or topic queries of the latest relevant Google content. The alerts track blog posts, news articles, videos and even groups and can be delivered via email or RSS
Backtype, http://backtype.com - Let's you find, follow, and share comments you've written
Yacktrack, http://www.yacktrack.com - Lets you search for comments on your content from various sources. It also let's you perform keyword searches on social media sites and then notifies you of the use, let's you people who are commenting on that same blog post you've commented on so you rejoin the conversation
Boardtracker, http://Boardtracker.com - Let's you track conversations on discussion boards
Social Mention, http://socialmention.com - Lets you search user-generated content such as blogs, comments, bookmarks, events, news, videos, and microblogging services
3 Chances To Take At Least 1 Action To Start Or Jumpstart Your Business
I've gotten many request for information on how to start a business online and I've finally finished a new website that focuses only on starting a business.
Smart Start-up Tactics will help you start or jumpstart your business by showing you how to create a business model using expertise and passion that will make money. So, if you haven't started your business yet and you've been wondering how-to or you've been in business for a little while but you are stuck head on over to Smart Start-up Tactics and take a look around.
While you are there...
- Download a free copy of Smart Start-up Actions, it's filled with easy-to-implement tactics that you quickly put to use to start and jumpstart your business. Get your copy here
- Register to attend the free webinar Answers To Your What is, Should I and How do I Questions. I'm going to spend 60 minutes answering the questions I've been sent that ask "What is", "Should I" and "How do I". So if you've been wondering How do I start a business? How can I make money online? What is twitter and what can it do for your business? Should I have a website or a blog? Should I add music to my website? Should I use WordPress self-hosted or hosted? What is affiliate marketing? What is an affiliate program? etc. reserve your spot now. You can even ask a question when you reserve your spot to ensure I answer your question.
- Join the Smart Start-up Tactics Inner Circle it's the perfect starting point for new entrepreneurs, future entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs who have been in business for a little while but you are stuck. You’ll enjoy monthly calls that focus on a particular business or marketing tactic to move your business forward and start earning revenue. Join Smart Start-up Tactics Inner Circle Now
Remember it only take one action to change the course of your business and I've given you three.
until next time
Answers to Your What is, Should I and How do I Questions
This month's Smart Tactics webinar answers your What is, Should I and How do I questions
I'm going to answer all the questions I've been sent that ask "What is", "Should I" and "How do I". So if you've been wondering How do I start an online business? How can I make money online? What is twitter and what can it do for your business? Should I have a website or a blog? Should I add music to my website? Should I use wordpress self-hosted or hosted? What is the difference between affiliate marketing and affiliate management? etc.
Join me Beryl Powell, the Business Advisor at OperateItRight.com and SmartStartupTactics.com on Wednesday July 1st at 1pm Central as I answer those questions and other What is, Should I and How do I questions.
Reserve your spot by completing the reserveration form below. Also, if you want to be sure I answer your question include it with your reservation.
Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Start Time: 1:00pm
Privacy Policy: I will NEVER share, rent or sell your information. I will only use it to communicate with you about building your business
Tactics to Get It All Done
Question – Beryl everyone’s talking about how the recession is causing their business to slow down. I’m not experiencing a slow down nor do I see one in my future and I’m becoming quite overwhelmed with all I have to do. How can I get all done and save my sanity at the same time?
Answer – First, I’m glad the recession is not affecting your business and that you want to implement strategies to ensure that you continue succeeding. Here are few tactics you can implement to help you manage everything you have to get done. But, first take a moment, relax and just breathe.
- Consider getting some assistance. Working with a Virtual Assistant or two can take a load off your shoulder. You can get a Virtual Assistant to help with both the tasks you need to complete for your own business and those you need to complete for your clients. You can also outsource some of the tasks you do around the house by having a housekeeping service come in once or twice a week, have your groceries delivered instead of going to the store. You can even hire a babysitter to entertain the kids for a couple of hours each week.
- Plan your schedule. The truth is that there are only 24 hours in a day and you can’t make the days longer no matter how hard you try. So, plan out how much time you are going to spend working and how much of time will spent on client work, how much time will be spent marketing and operating your business. Then create a schedule blocking out hours of time for each task you have to complete.
- Work within your limits. Come to terms with the fact that there is just no possible way for you to do everything and be everything. So, don’t take on more clients than you handle or promise to complete something that you can’t fit into your schedule. Also, know that it’s okay if a few household tasks go undone. So what if you have dusted or vacuumed for a few days. It’s also okay if the kids entertain themselves for an hour or two.
Operating a business is hard work and does require some time management and patience. Just remember when things start overwhelming you to take a moment relax and just breathe.
How to choose unique teleseminar/webinar topics?
Question: How do I choose a topic for my teleseminar/webinar that hasn’t been done to death by my competitors?
Answer: Teleseminar/Webinars are a great way to let prospective clients know you exist and how you can help achieve the outcome they are looking for.
Don’t focus on what topics your competitors are doing because even if you are both covering the same topic on the same day each of you are putting your unique spin on that topic. Plus, there are always multiple points to cover on any topic and it’s not possible to cover everything in 60 minutes. A few strategies you can use to develop teleseminar topics that uniquely yours are…
- Think about what you want to be known for
- What do you help your clients achieve
- What do you want prospective clients to know about what you do and what you can help them achieve
- What are you comfortable talking about for 60 minutes
- How can you put a new twist on something that’s already been said and done
The key is to choose a topic that you know about that’s of interest to your target market that show’s you as the expert at what you do.
Want to master operating your business right?
This has been a pretty busy telephone week for me. It seems a lot of us are concerned with reaching the half-way point of this year and feeling as if we haven't accomplished what we set out to accomplish as business owners. Some of us feel that we've even lost that loving feel we had for our business.
It's true, as I've said in other emails, that it can be difficult to generate revenue right now. But, you have to keep at it. You just can't give up because you have to work for it. You have to dig your feet and keep going. You can't allow yourself to feel guilty about selling. It's what business is about.
Things aren't going to change on their own. You're not going to wake up in the morning and have a multitude of clients if you are not consistently...
- Creating new content like articles and blog post that show you know what you are doing and understand the challenges of your target market and the daily frustration that your ideal client is feeling.
- Publishing those articles on your website and submiting to article directories so that others can post them to their site and drive traffic to your website
- Becoming a social butterfly online and off. Connecting with your target market is the best way to communicate your understanding of their challenges and the solutions you offer. Just don't become so engrossed in socializing that you forget it's business and selling what you offer.
- Because your operating a business online don't forget the search engines like Google, Yahoo, and bing. Get your site listed.
OperateItRight's Self-Study Courses shares tips and techniques to do even more to grow a profitable business online. Each self-study course focuses on one business tactic and is written in an easy to follow format. Each course explains the what is, the why, the when and most importantly the how-to making it easy to put that tactic to use right now, whether you are new or seasoned business owner. Self-study courses come in two formats, workbook & web-course, making it easy to learn and implement at your own pace.
Here's some specifics about what the self-study courses cover...
- Tactics to stop wasting your precious marketing dollars and hours
- Create a niche market so tight that no one else can compete
- What you need to think and do differently
- Tips for making money & staying positive in an unstable economy
- Where you need to start to keep going in the right direction
- Specific steps you can implement immediately to increase your income while working less
Take a look at the list of currently available self-study courses and stop struggling to generate revenue and end this year with a bang!
Two Things You Must Focus On To Build A Business Online
Question: I’m working a fulltime job as I start my business what should I focus on during the few hours I have to build my business.
Answer: Once you decide what you are going to do to generate revenue, who is going to buy what you are going to sell, who else is selling the same thing and how you are going to be seen as unique you want to create a website that visually appeals to your target market and clearly explains what you do to help them achieve what they are looking to achieve and asks them to buy what you are selling. You want to focus your time on two (2) things, generating traffic to your website as you prove your expertise and keeping in touch with your list. By the way, list refers to people who give you their contact information when they visit your website because they have an interest in what you are selling, prospective clients.
A few things you want to do to generate traffic to your website as you prove you are an expert at what you do are…
- Write articles that help your target market see you as the person who can help them. Articles don’t have to be very long 350 – 500 words will do. Submit those articles to article directories, blogs and newsletters read by your target market.
- Use social media
- Join and participate in forums and social networking sites that your target market hangs out on
- Use StumbleUpon and Digg to bookmark content you read that your target market would be interested in reading
- Use Twitter to learn from people who are doing what you want to do and to show your target market that you are real person and keep them up-to-date on what you are doing
- Create your social media profiles so that they showcase your expertise and what you help your clients achieve. Make sure you are offering them your free giveaway.
A few things you want to do to focus on building and keeping in touch with your list is…
- Create something like a short report or whitepaper, ebook or audio tip(s) to giveaway that showcases your expertise and what you help your clients achieve by working with you or buying what you sell
- Add a signup box to your website offering the free giveaway in exchange for your website visitor’s name and email address
- Create an eCourse that educates your list about you what do, how you help them and who you’ve already helped.
- Then send a newsletter or email regularly offering how to and informational articles that focuses on things you clients do.
By focusing your time on these two tasks you’ll be using your time wisely and creating a solid foundation.
Marketing Locally to Generate Website Traffic
Not all website traffic begins on the internet. Marketing locally is a great way to increase the visitors your website receive. Here are few old school marketing tactics that you can implement locally to increase your website traffic.
- Bumper Stickers – It’s as simple as printing your website address on a sticker and putting it on your car where it can be seen.
- Magnetic Car Sign – Another simple one but a little more expensive is having your website address and tagline or slogan printed on a magnetic sign for your car. Both the bumper sticker and the magnetic car get your website address seen as you go about your normal errands.
- Business cards – First make sure your website address is on your business card than hand them out whenever you have a conversation with someone, leave them on the counter or table at restaurants, on the tables in the library or in the business center of local hotels.
- Flyers – Have some flyers printed with an offer that sends the reader to your website. Place the flyer on supermarket and community bulletin boards, hand them out when you do your errands.
- Cross Marketing – Get the people you do business with your community to place your flyers in the bags of their customers. Ask the local hairdresser to place your business cards on the counter. Tell your doctor, dentist, lawyer, realtor, mailman to view your website and tell their clients about your website.
- Networking – Chamber of Commerce events, BNI and Toastmasters are still viable ways to meet people and get them about you. Always send them to your website for more information or to download a brochure
2 solutions to build your biz!
Just a quick alert to let you know about 2 solutions that are available to you, to build your business.
1. New Self-Study Courses to make reaching your year-end goals a breeze
The first week of June is quickly coming to end and we're fast approaching the halfway point in the year. Are you where you want to be in your Online Business?
If you are not, now is the time to re-evaluate.
Take a look at who your clients are, how you are marketing your business, what you are saying to potential clients. OperateItRight Self-Study Courses are a great guide to improving your business. Each course focuses on one business or marketing topic so that you can small changes or big changes. The key is that now is the time to make the change.
You owe it to yourself and your family to make the most of your business. There's no point in putting in time and not reaping the rewards.
2. VIP Invite to My New Social Network - Let's Touch Base
Let's Touch Base is a one-stop shop for femalepreneurs to connect, network, share content and market their business. Our mission is to drive new business to our members. The concentration is on enabling femalepreneurs to effectively market your business, create joint ventures and alliances to generate revenue.
We provide a simple way for femalepreneurs to enhance their online presence and be found by potential clients, alliances, referral source and media connects.
As a member you'll be able to...
- create a professional profile that includes information about your business and products/service
- connect and network with other femalepreneurs
- share information and content that you've created
- promote your business, products/services and events
- access business techniques and tools to build your business
Join now there's no cost.
Are You Overwhelmed?
Operating a new business is fun. It is exciting to think that you will be your own boss and make money. These are all good things about business life. On the flip side, being a company of one can get to be too much at times. No one wants to admit when they are in over their heads, but if the business is to continue to thrive, knowing the warning signs and getting help is vital.
Do you waste more and more time each day? Truth is...we all waste a fair amount of time, even with our businesses. Wasting time could be anything from spending too much time answering emails or looking something up on the Internet. It could be taking thirty minutes to write up a “To Do” list and then only doing one or none of the things on it.
This could be a sign that the business is overwhelming you. Instead of jumping in and tackling the tasks that need to be done, you avoid the one task you know you need to complete because you either don’t have the answers or don’t want to deal with it. Either way, your business is going to suffer as long as you we hide from the task.
Look to fellow business owners for help. This is why it is important to be a part of social networks and mentoring groups that deal with your area of business. You are not the first business owner to feel this way and you won’t be the last. Someone out there has practical tips that can help you to get over the hurdle and be successful in your business.
Does it seem that you work and work each day but the pile of work never seems to get any smaller? This is a sign that you need help. Take a step back and look at your business as a whole. What is consistently not getting done? What is the nature of the majority of the work that is left each day?
Consider your options. If emails have you bogged down, find ways to organize things so that it doesn’t take five or more hours to answer them. Set up your work day to include an hour for dealing with emails. During this time, you can answer, organize, flag, create drafts, and whatever else you have to do to keep the emails from overwhelming you.
If it's marketing that concerns you? Choose one area to market your business. This doesn’t mean that this is the only area to use. Quite the contrary is true. Once this area gets going, explore another part of the marketing strategy. Diversifying is necessary but not all at once.
If you're overwhelmed? Take the time to discover the source and find solutions to alleviate the stress.
