Display Merchandising: Your RSS Feed

By on January 27, 2012 in Blog Coach, Marketing with 0 Comments

Do you subscribe to your own RSS feed?  You should.

Sometimes, if you could see what I can see (and what your readers-prospects-customers see). A successful retailer and the restauranteur are always looking over their displays and presentation – and so should you.

When I click on your RSS button – if it goes anywhere – I sometimes get sent to a page that looks like this:

RSS-code view

 

Feedburner gives you analytics AND a stylized, browser-friendly result when readers click on your subscribe button.

RSS View with Feedburner

Now that you’ve subscribed to your own RSS feed, you can do even more “display merchandising” from your Google Reader (or however your read your feeds).

Is there a title? A byline with your name? Are the feed items formatted like your blog posts (I use the WP Plugin Align RSS Images)? Are you using Eye Rests?

Next time someone clicks on the orange button, don’t scare them. Display your RSS so its a friendly RSS.

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Seasons of Talk

By on January 25, 2012 in Blog Coach with 2 Comments

How do you measure the conversations in a day?

Small talk at the grocery store? Debates at meetings? Brainstorming during lunch? Arguments in your own head?

How about the conversations where you listen more than talk? Or the ones you have on Twitter? Those where there is no talking going on at all?

I’ve never counted the number of conversations I have in a day. You? Yet we struggle at writing a blog or posting a thing on that social network.

If you listen to your day, you’ll never run out of things to write about.  Nobody suffers from Talker’s Block.

Start with one keystroke … and keep going …

Begin with a Single Keystroke

You’ll find things measure up just fine after awhile.

 

Slide Sunday: One Brick at a Time

By on January 22, 2012 in Brain Stew, Quotes n Notes with 0 Comments

Build things one brick at a time

“You don’t try to build a wall. You don’t set out to build a wall. You don’t start there. You say, ‘ I’m going to lay this brick as perfectly as a brick can be laid.’ You do that every single day. And soon you have a wall.” – Will Smith

Ignoring the Social Media Echo Chamber Chamber

By on January 20, 2012 in Blog Coach, Conversations, Social Media with 5 Comments

Close Your Ears to the Social Media Echo ChamberYou may occasionally read about the “social media echo chamber” – maybe you even write about it.

Me? I don’t think it exists. Not really.

And you shouldn’t let it exist – because if you do, it’s all in your head. Yep, I think you’re imagining things.

Granted, there are a lot of folks that talk about social media, and as a small business owner using social media – social media is part of the conversations in your day. But it’s not your core business.

Let’s say you’re a furniture store owner, you should be more concerned about the custom wood vs particle board debates. The Google-Facebook thing? Pass. You should be engaging with folks talking about the process of  re-upholstery more than those on the practice of re-tweeting.

If you follow or connect with a lot of people talking about social, you’ll hear a lot of talk about social (even if they aren’t talking to you). If you follow a lot of people talking about food … guess what … they talk a lot about food (even if they aren’t talking with you).

SMI-SMO? Social Media In – Social Media Out. Listen to something else. If all you’re doing is following conversations about social media (social media in), you’re probably going to talk a lot about it too (social media out). And then two things might happen:

  1. You get a headache
  2. You alienate your intended audience

I’m not saying social media conversations are bad (well, some of them are), but too much of any one thing could become a burden. And when we burden ourselves, we usually point fingers elsewhere.

There is a whole lot of conversation happening around your core business. Engage in social media chatter now and again, fine. More important, find and immerse yourself in the talk around your business.

(Did I just tell myself to shutup in this post? If I did, I didn’t hear it)

Photo on Flickr by massdestraction

 

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3 Tips to Making Your Small Business Big in 2012 [Guest]

By on January 19, 2012 in Blog Coach with 4 Comments

Guest post written by Kathleen Hubert

3 Tips to Making Your Small Business Big in 2012

Making a small business into a large success is not as challenging as it might seem. Dreaming of creating a big business from that small company that is currently running and bringing in profits is only the first step in achieving the goal. Following three simple rules can help bring in big successes in 2012 that will ultimately result in creating a big business.

List Successes

Before starting out with a new business plan, it is vital to determine what worked in 2011 and what held your small business back. List the items that sold the most or the marketing scheme that brought in new customers to your company.

Beyond listing the successes, make another list of what did not work for the business. Differentiating what works for you and what does not can help ensure you have repeat customers and maintain the current client base.

Show Expertise by Helping

Creating a blog that gives advice on how to use products or what services might be useful in which situations can not only help clients who are looking for answers; it can show expertise in your business field. By establishing yourself as a professional who is not only seeking profits but also trying to give help when clients need a hand, you are bringing in more interest and work.

Making use of blogs, social networking sites and other Internet resources is a great way to help your small business grow and start blooming into a big company. Social networks and blogs are particularly useful when you want to establish your experience and professionalism in the field.

Make a Plan

The final tip to follow is making a business plan based on the figures and information from previous years as well as customer feedback about services or products. A business plan should detail what you intend to do for growth, what you plan to avoid for the next year because it did not work previously and which areas clients would like to see improved. By working on a plan and creating a method of obtaining the goal of becoming a big business, the dream can ultimately become a reality.

Small businesses always have a hope of growing into a large corporation. Fortunately, it is possible for any business to reach for greater success with a plan of action and a few simple rules.

Kathleen Hubert is a blogger who writes on a variety of different sites. Check out more of her work at car loans.

Facebook: Kathleen Hubert
Twitter: @kathleen_h101
Google+:

Something New: Searching for Apples in Pasta, Finding …

By on January 19, 2012 in Marketing, Social Media with 1 Comment

Finding Apples in Pasta with Google PlusLast night, I tried something(s) new.

First something new : I wanted to make a pasta dish with apples, maybe raisins.

I don’t normally cook with a recipe in hand, though I have one in mind. Yet I wanted some ideas so I went to Google for ideas.

Google and the new “Search, Plus Your World” search immediately caught my attention. My eyes were drawn to the images of people I’m connected with. Writing, Talking, and Sharing about what I was searching for. People from my Foodie circle appeared with some ideas. 

Second something new: I turned off the normal search, adjusted my search query and used just my personal results. Some of the folks I circled had results on their blog, some on a G+ post, some they simply “plussed” and others were images. Good stuff.

For years we’ve talked how a word by an online connection is more important than almost any other recommendation. Search, Plus Your World helps do that. In addition, the oh-so important, but thus far, largely ignored by “experts”, Authorship markup is going to draw eyeballs and clicks.

Remember a widget called MyBlogLog? It started as a traffic-tracking tool but soon became THE widget when they added Faces. Faces draw clicks. Faces get found. Faces get remembered

Take of your “user” cap for a minute and think business. Whether you like Google Plus or not; whether you like Search, Plus Your World or not …  is secondary to what your customers / prospects / audience think.

Something next: Learn how to markup your site for authorship. Open a Google profile, learn to use G+ a bit, then do likewise for your business.

Will I find your pasta recipe? Or how to stage your house for a sale? Or how to write a business plan?  Will I find your face in my search, or your competitor?

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Is SOPA Really a Bad Thing?

By on January 18, 2012 in Brain Stew, Social Media with 0 Comments

All this talk about SOPA being a bad thing. The acronym is for Stop Online Piracy Act. The headline says it all, right? SOPA might even make us all better at this social media thing.

We wouldn’t waste our time watching remixes and animated gifs, and we wouldn’t get any new ideas from those things we see.

Probably because we’d be scared if we did. And because the creative minds behind the ideas would be in jail. Fahrenheit 451 anyone?

Facebook and YouTube would probably be shut down. We wouldn’t have to worry what to write on our blog anymore. And lawyers on earth strike me down (and they will) if I ever use a Disney example to punctuate a point or a metaphor from most other media or corporate entity.

Stop SOPA

We wouldn’t have to think about following someone we don’t know from other lands, because who knows what they’ve pointed to. No more “global economy” or “flat classroom”. Let’s re-open the factories and stand in line to go back to work (and get fed).

And the “pirates” this thing is supposed to stop? They would flourish. Putting bars on a window almost guarantees it gets hit. Always checking your wallet in your pocket makes sure you get picked. Stopping Piracy by breaking the Internet will handcuff everyone … but the pirates.

Would we have iTunes if not for Napster? Would Hulu or Netflix be streaming if not for the pirates showing what the public desired? I’m not saying piracy is good, it’s not. It’s stealing. But we do get some ideas from their action.

This bill should not, cannot simply be delayed. It must be destroyed. Rather, keep the web open. A global economy is at stake. 

Stop SOPA and PIPA

Stop American Censorship

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RePurpose Your Content: Say it Again, Sam

By on January 17, 2012 in Blog Coach, Social Media with 5 Comments

“We don’t know what we know until we articulate it.”

One of my pet sayings. I believe in it so much so, I repeat it often. Online and offline.

Recycle Your Content for Fresh Eyes

Do you have a quip or quote, an article or post that bears repeating? I’d bet “yes” if you’re over the age of eight. But once you’ve tweeted it or blogged it, do you repeat it?

You should.

Most of the content we consume comes to us in some sort of information stream (or InfoStream). It’s a rare chance that someone will catch your repeat if spread out – and a better chance that new eyes might see your golden post for the first time.

If you have yet to meet of follow Christoper S. Penn, please do so. He will help wake up the superhero inside of you. He also provides a great example of repeating valuable content. Because Chris makes new connections fast (over 48K on Twitter, already 10K on Google+), he often re-introduces his “stream” with a welcome message (his name above is linked to that page). He’s posted that nine times in the first 17 days of 2012.

I’ve followed, conversed, retweeted, disagreed, and applauded Chris’ work for years. I’ve clicked through his welcome page a few times over that span. And to me it’s still new.  To his new connections, it’s even newer.

I was silent about this in a video a few years ago:

We don’t know what we know until we articulate it. And if it’s good, we should continue to articulate it, even if in different ways (or times, or streams).

[Disclaimer: If you get the idea to repurpose old content on a new platform in a different manner, that's your idea ... and I'm proud of you for thinking that way]

Connect with Christopher S. Penn, follow his examples and practices.

Martin Luther King said …

By on January 16, 2012 in Brain Stew, Quotes n Notes with 0 Comments

“Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase.”

Many of us celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr today. Some of his greatest quotes can be found at GoodReads:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches

“I have decided to stick to love…Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

“Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

“Not only will we have to repent for the sins of bad people; but we also will have to repent for the appalling silence of good people.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

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