A Solid Core is at the Center of a Strong Business

A few years ago I signed up for Pilates classes to get in shape and to build my core.  I finally quit when my flaky instructor showed up on the first day and then missed a few classes.  She had a great core, but a bad planning system.

In a recent blog post, New Marketing Labs, LLC president Chris Brogan stresses the need to develop a strong core. In this case he’s referring to your database, your email marketing, and some kind of community of prospects. He describes his four core tools of marketing.

DatabaseYour client and prospect list, your database, is the base of everything. If you don’t know who your customers are, who your next customers will be, then that’s where you start. Brogan uses BatchBook by BatchBlue for his contact database.  Constant Contact is another database manager to consider but a product endorsement by Brogan carries a lot of weight. [Read more...]

Take a Close Look at Your Site

Chris BroganIt’s easy to criticize someone else’s site.  Taking a close, honest look at your own site is much harder.  In social media pro Chris Brogan’s blog post Revisit Your Site Carefully,” Brogan analyzes what’s wrong with his site, what his site should be doing and what he should be doing.  What he discovered could be applied to anyone’s site.

  • He has a high bounce rate (people don’t spend much time on his site). Have you analyzed your site to find out how long visitors are staying?
  • His calls to action are too plentiful. You can push people but there’s a point where you can go too far. Are you being too pushy?

Check out Brogan’s post to find out how he fixed these problems and a few others.  His post has convinced me that I need to analyze my own blog. Stay tuned for a few changes coming up.

Are You an Overnight Success?

Hard work does pay off
I remember seeing an interview with a well known actress who was asked about her overnight success. She said that it took her only 20 years. So much for the overnight part.

How long will your overnight success take?

How long will your overnight success take?

Chris Brogan, President of New Marketing Labs, is also an overnight success after years of hard work. In his video,What it takes to be an overnight success,” Brogan shows the not-so-glamorous, hardworking side of being successful.

Those folks looking for get-rich-quick schemes and for shortcuts to success, soon find out that those gigs are short-lived. Hard work pays off. Just ask Chris Brogan.

Lead, follow or get your ass out of the way
Another successful business guru, John Jantsch, reveals the 7 traits of the modern leader on his site, Duct Tape Marketing. A few of the traits Jantsch describes are: [Read more...]

Socially Speaking and Keeping Quiet

Where to say it
Before you do anything this morning, check out 5 Things Small Business Owners Should Do Today Online by Chris Brogan. Chris is a social media expert who works with large and mid-sized companies to help them improve online business communications. He knows his stuff. His five valuable tips are easy to follow and put into action.

What not to say
I have a friend who says whatever is on her mind. Censoring doesn’t exist in her world. I cringed when she told me recently that she was going to be interviewed by the local newspaper. My advice to her? Think before you speak. Publicist Shannon Cherry knows what to say and when to say it, especially to the media. Her article, Say what? Watch your mouth when with a journalist,” gives good insight and tips to dealing with reporters to make sure you say what you mean and watch what you say.

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