Donna Maria's Indie Business Blog » Social Media

Podcast No. 271: New Relationship Marketing

Donna Maria — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:51:33 +0000

Earlier this week, I went one-on-one with Mari Smith, the author of New Relationship Marketing. Mari has been called the “Pied Piper Of The Online World,” and you’ll see why when you hear how enthusiastically and sincerely she shares her tips for marketing your business.

To listen to my 30-minute interview with Mari, and to put her tips to work in your life right away, scroll to the bottom of this page and click the play arrow. If you don’t feel like listening right now, here is a high level summary of what Mari and I discussed, with time stamps in case you want to scroll forward.

You’re already a relationship marketer (2:14)! Since the notion of relationship marketing is based on the underlying intent that governs all of your actions, if you have a business, you currently engage in some forms of relationship marketing every day! Unlike the traditional sales and marketing process, which focuses on closing the sale in front of you, relationship marketing focuses on earning and nurturing relationships, and on acquiring customers for life. This is not a “one off” process. It’s continuous and flowing, and allows you to use new media tools for great efficiencies.

My Takeaway: Rather than focusing solely on your sales cycle, focus also on how relationship cycles complement your sales cycle. Observe how they mature over time. See how they lead to sales and other positive outcomes in your business and in your life.
The line between business, personal and private (28:00). Stressing that you must take control of your privacy, Mari divides sharing into three categories: business, personal, and private. She suggests a 3-prong test to determine whether or not to share something publicly. Don’t miss this section, where Mari discusses how she applied these tests to determine whether and how to share her change in marital status at her blog. You’ll get some great tips if you are trying to figure out what to share and what not to share.

My Takeaway: If you have a business, there is not such thing as complete privacy. You cannot be an recluse online and then expect the Internet to deliver sales for you. Strike an intentional balance between disclosure and non-disclosure that works for you. Like relationship marketing itself, this is a dynamic process, and may vary greatly depending on the season of your life, the stage of your business, and your own personal comfort level.
Three things that will always draw people (11:47). Whenever you’re at a loss for how to connect with and nurture a relationship with someone, consider approaching them around one of these three things: family, hobbies, or travel. Everyone likes all three, so you can’t go wrong with any of them. This is a super tip for when you need ideas for new blog posts, and want to use your blog to reach out to specific people with whom you want to do business.

My Takeaway: Use your blog, Twitter, FaceBook, etc., to find out about the people you want to connect with. Just like you approach the job interview process only after doing homework on the employer, approach the business networking and marketing process by first doing your home on the business and/or business owner you want to connect with.

About Mari Smith

Mari is a passionate social media leader, specializing in relationship marketing and FaceBook mastery. Fast Company describes her as a veritable engine of personal branding, a relationship marketing whiz and the “Pied Piper
of the Online World.” In addition to her new book, New Relationship Marketing, Mari is the co-author of FaceBook Marketing: An Hour a Day, and is considered one of the top resources and thought leaders in the world of new media marketing. Follow Mari on Twitter here, and check out her website here.

How to Listen to the Show

This post contains my paraphrases of the information Mari shared. To hear it from the horse’s mouth yourself, listen to the entire 30-minute show using one of these options:

Download it on iTunes. (It usually takes a day or two for iTunes to feed the show there.)
Click on the arrow at the bottom of this post to listen now!
Because I have not had a chance to load all of my shows to this blog, you can listen to hundreds of interviews from 2005 to 2010, each one as relevant today as it was when I recorded it, at my Indie Business Radio site.

Question: What do you think of Mari’s tips? What did we miss? How do you use technology to nurture relationships that help you and others be successful?

5 Ways To Use Photo And Video Sharing To Support And Nurture Your Brand At An Event

Donna Maria — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:34:42 +0000

Attending and participating in an event is a great opportunity to leverage, support, and nurture your brand. With technology today, this is so easy to do. This post is inspired by my desire to empower those hosting and attending #IndieMeetup around the country this weekend to use the event as a fun business branding opportunity, but you can use these tips for any event you attend in your capacity as leader of your company.

These tips are not exhaustive — I’m necessarily leaving a lot of things out. If i didn’t, this post would never end. There are so many different ways to use technology to your advantage at a live event, so this post covers several of the easiest. They are displayed generally in order of simplest (if you do not consider yourself tech savvy) to a bit more geeky (that would be me). You’ll need a smart phone for all but the first of these activites. (I use iPhone.)

Just blog it. If live photo sharing (discussed below) is not for you, then just take a bunch of photos with a regular camera, upload them to your computer, and then include them in a blog post about the event. This is pretty obvious and oh so easy, plus once you have the photos, you can do so many other things with them, including add them to your Flickr, FaceBook, and any social networking site you belong to. This option is for people who don’t feel comfortable posting things live or who are not (yet) tech savvy.
Post images to FaceBook. Live photo sharing is more effective because it’s, well, live. Real-time engagement is frequently preferable to the after-the-fact kind, so why not share fun stuff as it’s happening?

The easiest way to use events to support your brand is to use your smart phone’s FaceBook app to share photos of the event at your FaceBook Business Page — live as you are snapping the pictures. You might want to post a status update in advance if you plan to share a lot of pictures, just to let your fans know what’s coming, and to encourage them to check your page frequently during the even to see what they’re missing. If you have subscribers at your FaceBook Profile Page, you can do the same to double your leverage advantage. Once the photos are added, I suggest creating a photo album with the event title, and then captioning each photo so people have a good context for years to come. You can also tag people in photos (ask first), and include FaceBook location information.

Another super nice touch is to LIKE the FaceBook Page of the location where the event is being hosted. For example, many #IndieMeetups are being hosted at local coffee shops.

What some extra credit? Like the location FaceBook Page, and use the new relationship to uplift yourself and the business that’s hosting your event. I did this by using FaceBook as my Business Page, Liking Amelies French Bakery, (Charlotte’s #IndieMeetup location) as my Business Page, posting this to my Business Page, tagging Amelies in the text.

Wouldn’t it be nice if, by the time you read this post, someone at Amelies sees that I promoted their business to my FaceBook Fans?

See? Share what your company is doing as you also share the company you are doing it with. It’s pretty awesome if you ask me.

Share your friends’s FaceBook posts, and don’t forget to ask them to share yours! This is sure to increase the engagement at your FaceBook Page, and may increase your fan count too. BAM Baby!!

Post images to Twitter. Because so many photo sharing apps allow you to simultaneously post to Twitter and FaceBook, I always do this at events. Be sure to use the designated hash tag on Twitter. (For this weekend, it’s #IndieMeetup) so people from all over the world can have access to the fun. If you feel like it, you can use free apps like Instagram for iPhone to give your photos some additional flair and appeal. (According to a recent CNET report, Istagram is not available yet for Droid, but you can use other apps you like, or the regular camera app on your Droid.)

to make things easier on yourself, download the photo app before the event, and set up sharing through FaceBook and Twitter in advance so you don’t have to fiddle with it at the event. (You don’t want to miss any good photo ops because you don’t do this in advance.)

Before you start live Tweeting an event, it’s a good idea to notify your followers with a quick Tweet about what’s to come, especially if you plan to share a lot from the event. Remember to use the appropriate hash tag.

Bonus Points! You can tag the event location on Twitter in much the same way you can on FaceBook. Here’s an example. Note from that link how Meetup and Twitter work together, not only to tag the restaurant, but also to let you know who else is attending. How cool is it that something so simple can provide opportunities to connect with Indies in your area and spread the word about the fun you are all having together?

Post recorded videos to Twitter and FaceBook. Using Twitvid for iPhone or Android, you can take a quick video, compress it, and Tweet and FaceBook it in minutes! (Make sure your battery is fully charged!) This is super if you find someone interesting to interview at the event, or if you want to show everyone what the mango martini ice sculpture looks like while you’re filling up your empty glass. People love seeing moving colors that showcase how much fun you are having — and how much fun you are to do business with.

Bonus Points!After the video is loaded to your Twitvid account, you can grab the embed code and use it at your blog. Instant blog post!

Livestream. A little more for the geeky types, but super fun. The free Livestream iPhone app (I cannot find one for Android) makes it easy to stream a live video from your smart phone. Setting this up may be a bit involved for the uninitiated, and detailing the steps is beyond the scope of this post, so you can visit Livestream’s website and get instructions here. (You’ll have to check the FAQ for more details>)

During live play and playback, Livestream will embed a sponsored message before your feed, but you can bypass that if you want to pay $300+ for the privilege. This is a fun and useful app, and whether or not you use it for an event, it’s one to know and learn about as you lead your business forward. Even so, I recommend it only when you’ve given people advance notice about how to watch the stream (what link to click) and that a commercial will be embedded. You could also use the Ustream app, which operates similarly to Livestream’s. (If you want to get super fancy, you can even Livestream an event straight to your FaceBook Page. How cool is that?

Even if you don’t do this, please take a moment to go to Livestream and reserve your brand name there, if you have not already done so. You might as well set it up in case you need it in the future, as you prevent others from grabbing your vanity URL on Livestream when you’re not looking!

I’m just scratching the surface, offering a basic overview to get the ideas flowing. There are hundreds, even thousands, of apps you can use to support and nurture your brand at an event. Whatever you choose to use, remember to keep it simple (whatever that means for you) so you can enjoy your time networking, learning and sharing with other people.

Question: What did I miss? What apps, tips and tricks have you used to leverage your brand at live events? We’d love to hear how you use technology to leverage your brand at events!

Ask dM: How Do I Use Local Events and MeetUp To Promote My Business?

Donna Maria — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 22:59:17 +0000

Q: “I am an esthetician, and I just started a natural skincare meetup group. I want your suggestions and ideas to make it successful. This is my first effort to reach out to people who are conscious about their skin, to help them with suggestions to improve their appearance. I have seen on your blog and website how you encourage people to gain self confidence. I admire that, and believe that you are the right person to go to seek advice.”

– Promila Sharma, Kayantra: All About Wellness & Beauty, Fremont, CA

dM’s Answer: “Promila, how exciting that you are interested in leveraging live meetings to connect people as you also promote your business and pursue your passion. I have been hosting live events for several years — some of them tiny and others larger. Regardless of the size of the event, there are a few things you’ll want to make sure you do to maximize your chances of success. Here are some tips to help you get started on strong footing.

What’s in it for me? This is the first question people will ask. They may not say it out loud, but they want to know exactly what they will get in exchange for taking their time to meet with you. Do they get a discount on your services? Will a wellness speaker share tips to build self-confidence? Will they be entered into a drawing to win something? Giveaways? Prizes are not necessary, but they can’t hurt. Either way, be prepared to help people quickly see the benefit TO THEM of attending your event.
Be purposeful. Have specific goals in mind. What action do you want people to take as a result of attending your event? It can be as simple as signing up for your newsletter or Liking your FaceBook Page, or it can be something more significant — like buying a monthly subscription to your esthetician services.

Knowing what you want to achieve will help you direct your efforts and structure the events to achieve specific goals.
Connect with other business owners. Meetup is a great way to promote an event on a budget, but a simple meetup listing is not enough. Connect with other small business owners in your area who can help you spread the word and who might be interested in connecting with the same types of customers you are.

For example, is there a massage therapist who might like to co-host or help with the event somehow? Perhaps a yoga instructor? Or a chiropractor? These types of businesses are in fields similar to yours, but are not competing with you. They may help you promote or do some type of joint venture.

You’ll also want to promote your event via your FaceBook Page, Twitter, and your blog and newsletter (if you have them). Ask your friends to share the event as well.
Create a record of your event. Use still photos, video, and text blog posts to share the fun had by all at your event. Even a small turnout is worth capturing for future reference. When people see that others like-minded people had a good time at an event hosted by you, they are more likely to want to attend in the future. Capitalize on the moment by taking pictures and sharing them, along with testimonials, so you can build on your early successes.

Another option is to attend an event hosted by someone else so you can get your feet wet and meet people without having to set up everything yourself. The perfect opportunity is to host Indie Business WorldWide MeetUp in your town on January 14, 2012.

As you grow your business and increase your events, take special care to create and nurture new relationships. No one should leave your event without having an opportunity to subscribe to your newsletter and/or blog, or Like your FaceBook Page. Whether they are new customers, new prospective customers or other small business owners, capture their information so you can stay in touch with them — and give them your information as well.

There’s a lot more to effectively using live events to promote a business. It’s a lot of work. At the end of the day, the best events are part of a systematized marketing plan. After the first few events, you’ll have better idea of what people like and what they don’t like. You’ll also know how often you should have your event, and on what days and at what locations. There’s a lot to think about, but once you have a few under your belt, you can build events into your business model. Once that happens, the sky is the limit!

Have a question for dM? Send her your question about business and success now via this form, and it could be featured in “Ask dM!”

How To Develop A Branded Content Strategy

Donna Maria — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:50:22 +0000

Publishing branded content is the least expensive and most cost effective way to drive online traffic and visibility for your products and services. How do I know this? Because I live it. I just finished hosting my weekly podcast, which increases my access to people every day. And the first thing I did on January 16, 2000, the day I launched my business, was publish an online newsletter. I’ve been doing it almost weekly ever since. To see my first issue, and all of my issues from that first year, click here.

I’ve come a long way since then. (Here’s my most recent issue.) But what about you? I know you know that it’s vital to your success that you own your core marketing outlets and content. So why do so few of you have a reliable, consistent, working content strategy? I think I know why, and I also think I know what you can do about it. I’ll tell you more about my new program to help you do something about it in a minute, but first, here are the chief “explanations” I hear from people who don’t have a branded content marketing strategy:

I don’t have enough time. I can sympathize with the idea of this, but not the reality of it. I am a wife with two young children. But I also know that if I don’t invest in my business, my business won’t invest in me. If you won’t force yourself to take your valuable time to tell people about your great products, how can you expect people to take their valuable time to buy your products?

Let me say this another way, because it’s really important. If your products are wonderful, and you want me to pay you for them, but don’t care enough about me to reach out to me regularly, then don’t expect me to take the time to find out about your products — much less buy them. That’s pretty clear, right?
I’ll run out of things to say. If this is really REALLY true, then you need to re-think your products and/or your business model. Both should be putting you in touch with exciting people and ideas every day. You should be reading industry trade magazines. You should be talking to your peers on FaceBook and other social networking sites (oh, like this one, for example).

You should be surveying your customers and reading their FaceBook updates and Twitter streams to see what’s important to them. What do they care about? Do you care about the same things? Of course you do, especially if your products are aimed at women and you are a woman! Having nothing to say is not a business problem. It’s a life problem. Start connecting with other people, and getting to know them a bit. They’ll never run out of things to say, and, if you listen carefully and create content that interests them, you’ll never run out of things to say either.
I don’t understand the technology enough to get started. OK, I feel you here. There’s a lot of technology I don’t understand either.

(For example, I spent two hours this morning and three hours last week trying to figure out Garage Band so I can edit my weekly podcast. The person who used to edit it for me is not available for a while, so I need to figure out an alternative. It’s painful and frustrating, but I’m doing it. So I thought I’d mention that so you know that I’m living this too.)

But I can’t just sit around saying I don’t understand, while also complaining that I don’t have enough customers. I get customers because I produce content that is of interest to them. Because I engage them and let the know that I am listening to them, and that I care about and want to respond to the issues that affect them.

I ask them what they want and then set out to give it to them. I use technology because it’s the least expensive way for me to gain access to them. In fact, technology is the only way I can gain access to them. Do you have any alternatives? If not, then figure out the technology, and let’s get going.

So there you have it. The 3 biggest excuses — I mean, explanations, debunked.

So, What Can You Do About It?

First, make up your mind that you’ll find the time. If you don’t start there, you might as well just save yourself the trouble and fold up shop now.

Second, start listening. Hear what your target customers are saying, and then ask them to elaborate. Engage with them, communicate with them. Dwell with them. You’ll never EVER run out of things to say.

(Yes, listening like this takes time. See #1 above.)

Third, choose a technology and start using it. The three best options are a blog, a newsletter and a podcast (audio and/or video). You don’t have to start with all three, but eventually, you’ll need to use all three. Once you get started with each, you can leverage them against each other — this is where your customers will really begin to interact with you and your brand, and where they will begin to trust you enough to consistently pony up payment for your wonderful products.

How I Can Help (5 people only)!

Can you tell I’m passionate about this? And it’s not just because I read it on a blog or because I’m watching other people doing it. It’s because I live it myself, and my heart breaks when I see Indies unable to sell great products because they don’t know how to market them easily and inexpensively on the Internet.

While I can’t help everyone, I know that I can help 5 people, so that’s why I’ve put together this special program that starts next week — for just 5 people who I will work with one-on-one until the end of the year to get a branded content strategy up and running by January 2, 2012.

PRIVATE BRANDED CONTENT STRATEGY PROGRAM

This program is available to the first 5 people who sign up. All you need is a product to sell, a website to sell it from (it can be Artfire or Etsy!), the commitment to invest your time to sell the product, and a teachable spirit so I can show you how to use technology to brand and sell your products. To sign up, click here.

I am so convinced of the importance of branded content strategies that I’ve developed a program to help 5 people between now and the end of the year get their branded content strategies up and running by January 2, 2012. Reserve your slot and get started here.

Question: How can I help you develop a low-cost branded content strategy to help you achieve your goals? Let’s go!

Transcript: #HandmadeChat No. 4: How To Integrate Your Blog And Twitter To Boost Your Business

Donna Maria — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:23:16 +0000

Last night’s #HandmadeChat topic was the How To Integrate Your Blog And Twitter To Boost Your Business. My guest was Cathy Larkin, CEO of Web Savvy PR, a veteran PR and internet marketing strategist.

Cathy and I led a lively discussion that included some of the best tips and ideas for connecting your blog and Twitter to advance your business goals. Here is an overview of some of the ideas and important questions we asked and answered, a link to the transcript, and some actions you can take right now to turn your knowledge into power for the benefit of your business.

Auto-posting may be efficient, but …. I shared a link to a post about the drawbacks to auto-posting your blog to FaceBook. Even though #HandamdeChat focused on Twitter last night, my guess is the same kind of negative effects can result from auto-posts to Twitter.
Reasons to Tweet. So many handmade and micr-business owners focus almost exclusively on FaceBook because there are so many active consumers there. That’s great, and if your customers are on FaceBook, you should be there too. But last night, several people Tweeted how investing in Twitter has benefited their business.
Twitter rocks! This transcript is rich with inspiration for you. You’ll learn how other small business owners use it to get ideas for blog posts, find out what their customers are thinking about, honing your niche and so much more.

Get more tips in the How To Integrate Your Blog And Twitter To Boost Your Business transcript (PDF). Also, use the transcript to follow up on new connections or find links or comments you wanted to follow up on.

Follow Cathy Larkin or visit her website here.

The topic for #HandmadeChat for Thursday, November 3 will be announced shortly.

Meanwhile, click here for more information about the mission of #HandmadeChat, and how you can participate.

Question: What fun thing did you learn, or what fun person did you meet at our #HandmadeChat?

Announcing #HandmadeChat No. 4: How To Integrate Your Blog And Twitter To Boost Your Business

Donna Maria — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:57:21 +0000

I will host #HandmadeChat No. 4 on Thursday, October 27, from 8pm to 9pm EST! Our topic will be the How To Integrate Your Blog And Twitter To Boost Your Business. My guest will be Cathy Larkin, CEO of Web Savvy PR, a veteran PR and internet marketing strategist. A potter by hobby, Cathy handled the PR for 4 years for a Delaware craft festival and she loves helping handmade businesses use technologies to grow their businesses by engaging directly with their customers.

Cathy sees too few small business owners optimizing their use of a blog and Twitter to multiply their business results. She says that while many handmade companies invest most of their time on FaceBook, they are missing out on huge marketing opportunities when it comes to Twitter.

On the next #HandmadeChat on October 27, 2011, Cathy will answer questions and share some of her best tips to help you successfully integrate your blog and Twitter to boost your business.

Visit Cathy’s website or follow her on Twitter.

The next #HandmadeChat is Thursday, October 27, from 8:00pm to 9:00pm EST.

Follow @HandmadeChat on Twitter or FaceBook, and follow the #HandmadeChat hash tag.

Join on TweetChat (best for newbies) or join using our prepared TweetGrid.

If you’re not familiar with #HandmadeChat, read What Is #HandmadeChat to learn how to join and how we help you be more successful.

Transcript: #HandmadeChat #3: How To Hire A Virtual Assistant

Donna Maria — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:52:38 +0000

Last night’s #HandmadeChat topic was the How To Hire A Virtual Assistant. My guest and co-host was professional organizing coach and virtual assistant, Alaia Williams.

Alaia and I led a fun discussion of what to consider when you engage the services of a virtual assistant to help you organize and grow your business. Here is an overview of some of the ideas and important questions we asked and answered, a link to the transcript, and some actions you can take right now to turn your knowledge into power for the benefit of your business.

Consider what you do that someone else can do. Make a list of important tasks you do that you can train someone to do for you. Is not delegating certain aspects of your business holding you back?
Using your voice does not mean you can’t hire help! Hiring someone to help with social media outreach does not mean you’re compromising your authentic voice. In other words, authenticity is not compromised simply because you hire help. In fact, when it’s done with care and respect for your customers, an assistant can only help you serve them better, thus enhancing your authenticity and not taking away from it.

For example, one of my assistants helps me manage the Indie Business FaceBook Page. She formally introduced herself to our community in this post, and look how well she was received!
Qualities of a good virtual assistant. There are many, but topping the list are: good communications skills, good writer, professional manner. Also look for a good personality fit and someone who is flexible and can be as nimble as your business is.

Get more tips in the How To Hire A Virtual Assistant transcript (PDF). Also, use the transcript to follow up on new connections or find links or comments you wanted to follow up on.

Follow Alaia Williams or visit One Organized Business.

Special thanks to Cathy Larkin for her enthusiastic encouragement and help!

The topic for #HandmadeChat for Thursday, October 27 will be announced shortly.

Meanwhile, click here for more information about the mission of #HandmadeChat, and how you can participate.

Question: What fun thing did you learn, or what fun person did you meet at our #HandmadeChat?

Transcript: #HandmadeChat No. 2: Best Places To Sell Handmade Products Online

Donna Maria — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:22:22 +0000

Last week’s #HandmadeChat topic was the Best Places To Sell Handmade Products Online. My co-host was TJ McCue, lover of all things handmade and American Express OPENForum and SmallBizTrends contributor.

TJ and I guided an amazing group of handmade product makers and enthusiasts through a fun discussion of what’s hot in online handmade sales venues. We covered dozens of technologies available now to help you do some pretty amazing things. Everyone met some new friends and learned something new.

Here’s the transcript (PDF) in case you missed last week’s #HandamdeChat, or in case you want to scroll through and follow up on new connections or find those links you’ve been meaning to follow up on.

By the way, I won’t make you wait this long to get the transcripts from here on out!

Question: What fun thing did you learn, or what fun person did you meet at our #HandmadeChat?

What Is #HandmadeChat?

Donna Maria — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:16:45 +0000

This post explains how #HandmadeChat works, and how participating regularly will help your business grow. The mission of #HandmadeChat is to help you sell more of the products you make by hand. We cover fundamental business principles from the perspective of people who sell handmade products like soaps, cosmetics, artisan perfumes, aromatherapy products; and also candles, jewelry, and artisan baked goods like cakes, cookies, cupcakes, and chocolates.

#HandmnadeChat works kind of like a talk show on Twitter. Every Wednesday from 8-9pm NY time (5-6pm LA time), we gather on Twitter to discuss a particular topic of interest to the handmade business community. At the end of each #HandmadeChat, you will be armed with new ideas, new contacts, and most importantly, new actions you can take to drive your business forward. Now, I’m going to tell you how #HandmadeChat on Twitter works.

If you’re brand new to Twitter, first watch my video How To Set Up Your Twitter Profile, and read How To Make Useful Connections On Twitter.

How HandmadeChat Works

Along with my expert guest and/or co-host, I spark discussion on Twitter by posing questions to our guest, and our guest replies. The real fun starts when you join the discussion by posting your own on-topic questions, ideas and experiences.

The best way to describe it is like a MasterMind on Twitter, and everyone learns new things. Additionally, your confidence as a small business owner grows as you meet people and create collaborative and business opportunities so everyone can be more successful.

Using TweetChat or TweetGrid (see below), the #HandmadeChat hashtag is appended to the end of each Tweet. Here’s an example. This makes it easy for everyone to follow the discussion as it happens. it also makes it easy for everyone to find the discussion later — just go to Twitter and search for #HandmadeChat. Here’s how the search results look.

How To Participate Using TweetChat

If you are new to Twitter or to Twitter Chats, it’s best to use TweetChat, a third party application, until you get used to Twitter chats.

Joining #HandmadeChat is super easy, using TweetChat. Just do this:

- Log onto TweetChat
- Click Login in the upper right to log into Twitter using your Twitter username and password
- Click “Authorize App” to return to TweetChat
- Type in “handmadechat” (without the quotes) in the space at the top

This will take you to the chat where you’ll see real time conversations of everyone participating during #HandmadeChat.

Here’s how TweetChat looks – click the image to enlarge.

You’ll probably see some of your friends, and when you do, you can use the icons on the screen to Reply, Retweet, Favorite and Follow them! To start chatting, just type your chat in the text window. The number to the right counts down how many characters you have left before you reach 140. The #handmadechat hash tag will be automatically added to your Tweets, and will be searchable on Twitter (which is indexed by Google), as you can see here. You can even click “pause” to pause the chat in case it’s going too fast for you.

To start chatting, just type your chat in the text window. The number to the right counts down how many characters you have left before you reach 140. The #handmadechat hash tag will be automatically added to your Tweets, and will be searchable on Twitter (which is indexed by Google).

How To Participate using TweetGrid

Joining #HandmadeChat via TweetGrid, a third party application, is recommended if you are very familiar with how Twitter works. (If you are a newbie, use TweetChat. To join via TweetGrid, do this:

- Go to our pre-prepared TweetGrid Link (it’s different each week, and we announce it before each chat via @HandmadeChat on Twitter), login using using the link in the upper left, using your Twitter combination, and you’ll see the 3 columns
- Remember to LOG IN! You cannot Tweet until you log in!
- The left column is everyone using the #HandmadeChat hash tag
- The middle column are Tweets by me and my co-host
- In the right column, type in @ your Twitter username, and it will now display the Tweets of people talking directly to you during #HandmadeChat

Here’s how TweetGrid looks – click the image to enlarge.

You’ll notice above your username is a #hashtag box, which should say #HandmadeChat. If it does not, add it so the Tweets you send during the chat will include the hashtag. Just like with TweetChat, you’ll enjoy real time conversations of everyone participating during #HandmadeChat.

When you’re logged into Tweetgrid, to see the icons that make it easy to participate, hover over the Tweet you want to reply to, and use the symbols to respond. The symbols are:

- Press the left blue arrow Reply
- Press the next blue arrow to ReTweet
- Press the star to favorite a Tweet (so you can find it later)
- Press the speech bubble to send the person a Direct Message (this only works if the person is following you)
- Press the magnifying glass to enlarge the Tweet (this will open a new browser tab displaying the Tweet and all conversation attached to it — a handy feature when you want to see what everyone said about a particular comment)
- Press the envelope icon to email the Tweet

- Press stop in top left #handmadechat column to pause the flow of tweets, but don’t forget to hit start to start the flow again
- Press the + sign there to slow flow of tweets to every 10 seconds, rather than real time to slow things down a bit.

How I Prepare For #HandmadeChat

Along with my assistant and other Indie Team Members, each week, I post a series of Tweets about our guest and the topic for the week. You can follow these Tweets on HandmadeChat.

Here are some additional terms you need to know about to get started:

- The hashtag symbol (#) is placed in front of any term you want people to be able to click on and see what other people are saying on Twitter about that topic. Examples #cosmetics, #handmade #fitness

- TwitterChat speed can be pretty quick, so don’t panic if you see bunches of Tweets flying by. On TweetChat, you can press Pause or Refresh Speed to control catch your breath and create a pace that’s right for you.

- Near the end of the chat, we’ll ask you to post your best promotional Tweet to share a bit about your business and the products or services you have to offer. Please refrain from posting promotional Tweets until this request is made. We sometimes have drawing for prizes at the end too. That’s always fun!

- At the end of the chat, we share the guest and topic for the upcoming week.

- After the chat, take a few moments to follow people you met on the chat. Send people you really want to follow up with a Twitter direct message (if you are mutually following) to let them know you enjoyed meeting them. This is a great way to reach out to follow up and create new and mutually beneficial opportunities.

- Twitter has hiccups from time to time, either due to the volume of people using it or just because of an Internet or Twitter maintenance issue. Most delays are momentary, and we just keep rolling. If any delay compromises the chat for minutes at at time, we will suspend and reschedule the chat. Stay tuned to HandmadeChat for updates if this happens.

Watch @IndieAssist, @IndieBusiness (my Twitter handle) and @HandmadeChat for updates throughout the week, and to see if any breaking news or Internet outage issues have forced us to make a scheduling change.

You can also join #HandmadeChat on FaceBook and/or at our social networking site.

See You On HandmadeChat!!

Podcast No. 258: Dave Kerpen Shares How To Be Likeable In Social Media

Donna Maria — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 21:58:40 +0000

If Dave Kerpen is one thing, it’s “likeable.” After all, how can you not like a guy who convinced the the Brooklyn Cyclones, (the New York Mets’s single A affiliate baseball team) to host his wedding?

Another reason Dave is likeable is that he took time from an increasingly busy schedule to talk with me and my listeners about being likeable, which happens to be the title of his new book Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (And Other Social Networks). Dave’s book is designed to help you leverage word-of-mouth marketing to be more successful and deliver value, excitement and surprise, and I think you will like it.

To listen to my 30-minute interview with Dave, and to put his insights to work in your business now, scroll to the bottom of this page and click the play arrow. If you don’t feel like listening right now, here is a high level summary of what Dave and I discussed, with time stamps in case you want to scroll forward.

How to get more LIKEs (4:03). The first place (and the best place) to go to generate LIKEs at your FaceBook Page is your current customers, vendors, staff members and friends. As they LIKE you, because of the way FaceBook works, their friends will see that they’ve LIKEd you, and this opens the door organically to more LIKEs. As you engage people, others see that engagement, and if the topic interests them, they are more likely to reward you with a LIKE, and join the fun.
How to go from LIKE to sale (5:07). Since you can’t pay your bills with LIKEs, you have to go from LIKE to sale with some portion of your LIKErs, or else, the whole FaceBook Page thing becomes a waste of time. Dave says the first step is to realize that going from LIKE to sale on FaceBook is a longer sales funnel than we experience in a traditional marketing setting. The flow is as follows

Start with a LIKE
Then move to an engaged LIKE
Then an educated and Engaged LIKE
Then a sale

If you have engaged people, over time, when they need what you have to offer, they will think of you. Because you’ve opened the door with active and consistent engagement, you will have the opportunity to generate that sale.
Plan and invest your time wisely (6:50). Dave suggests investing a minimum of 30 minutes a day on your social media marketing, and also using services like HootSuite to plan and schedule some of it in advance. This helps you avoid being chained to your computer so you can run your business. Of course, Dave acknowledges that this takes quite a bit of time, so listen to the podcast for more specific tips.

As you listen, be sure to catch the part at 22:00 where Dave shares examples of how his company uses FaceBook ads to generate engagement and sales leads, including a suggestion for handmade soap companies. And don’t miss the part starting at 22:56 when Dave shares other super ideas to help handmade businesses attract new customers!

About Dave Kerpen

Dave is the co-founder and CEO of Likeable Media, an award-winning social media and word-of-mouth marketing firm with triple digit revenue growth for 4 consecutive years. He has been featured on CNBC’s “On the Money”, ABC World News Tonight, the CBS Early Show, the New York Times, and countless blogs. Follow Dave on Twitter here, and check out his website here.

How to Listen to the Show

This post contains my paraphrases of the information Dave shared. To hear it from the horse’s mouth yourself, listen to the entire 30-minute show using one of these options:

Download it on iTunes. (It usually takes a day or two for iTunes to feed the show there.)
Click on the arrow at the bottom of this post to listen now!
Because I have not had a chance to load all of my shows to this blog, you can listen to hundreds of interviews from 2005 to 2010, each one as relevant today as it was when I recorded it, at my Indie Business Radio site.

Question: What do you think of Dave’s tips? Do you feel more likeable already?

Some of My Best Blogging Advice

Donna Maria — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 14:21:33 +0000

Through the years, I’ve blogged a lot about blogging. Many people have told me that my posts have helped them not only start blogging, but also use their blogs to expand their sphere of influence and increase business opportunities.

If you’re new here, you may have missed some of my best blogging advice so I thought I’d share some of the posts today. Here is some of my best Blogging advice through the years:

Four Types Of Blog Content That Get Results. This post will help you make the most of each and every blog post you publish, and maximize your time as a blogger.
Ten Things That Make A Blog Stink. Pee-you! You know what I mean. This post contains tips to you keep your blog smelling like a rose.
How To Categorize Your Blog Posts. No matter what type of blog you have, keeping things neat and tidy will help your readers (and you!) find what you need when you need it. If it’s organized, people will share it more.
Should You Reorganize The Categories At Your Blog?. Since our businesses thrive in a state of beta, reorganizing your blog categories will keep things fresh, making it a living reflection of where you are in your life and your business.
Blog vs. FaceBook Page: Do You Need Both? This is one of my most popular social media posts.
How Blogging Has Enhanced My Life. If your business isn’t reason enough to convince you to blog, perhaps your personal life is.
Are You Blogging or Bogging? This post will help you be “real” when it comes to your, blog. If you know blogging can help you achieve your goals, but you are not blogging well, this posts will help you face the facts and get on with it, one way or the other.
3 Easy Ways To Improve Your WordPress Blog. I implemented each one, and am glad I did.
Top 10 Reasons Why Your Business Blog Is Dead. Things to avoid like the plague.
Top 10 Reasons Why Your Business Blog Is Dead. Well, if you want to go whole hog with your business, and a blog can help you do that, why not go whole hog with the blog too?

I think that’s a good start. I hope you find these posts helpful.

If you’re into Twitter, you might enjoy some of my best Twitter advice. And if FaceBook is more your thing, you’ll enjoy some of my best FaceBook advice.

Question: What do you think? Can you share some of your best blogging tips and ideas?

What Facebook’s New Changes Mean For Small Businesses

Donna Maria — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 22:58:07 +0000

Yesterday, I reminded you (and myself!) not to spend more time analyzing FaceBook’s new business announcements than you do analyzing your own. I followed my advice and invested the morning tweaking my 2012 business plan. I reserved some time to review some of my old FaceBook posts to assess the big picture of what FaceBook’s most recent changes may mean for small business owners. By the way, here’s a screen shot of what my new FaceBook profile page looks like.

FaceBook is calling this a “timeline” layout. I think it kind of looks like a magazine, and I like how it looks, especially the nice “timeline cover” (the big picture) at the top. But if like me, you are used to using FaceBook for business, and not just for personal reasons, you may be smelling something interesting in Denmark. Here’s what I mean.

No business page enhancements. The first thing that stands out to me is that there are no Business Page enhancements. That alone speaks volumes. Consider how cool it would be if your Business Page included a huge “timeline cover” showing off your latest holiday collection. Why not? Only FaceBook knows.
Subscription available only to profile pages. You can subscribe to a person’s profile page updates, but you cannot subscribe to Business Page updates. Since FaceBook’s policies prohibit anyone from maintaining “an account under the name of their organization, or us[ing] personal accounts to advertise or promote themselves professionally,” it’s telling that subscriptions to profile pages, but not Business Pages, are now available.

(I’m still digesting what this may mean, considering that thousands of professionals, especially those who are also brands in their own right, use FaceBook profile pages to promote themselves professionally.)
Apps for profile pages, not business pages. A host of new apps allow you to share every. single. thing. you. do. or. have. done. Having sushi for dinner? Your subscribers will find out in a matter of seconds. Can’t remember when you broke up with your last boyfriend? If you posted it to FaceBook, you (and your “friends” can simply scroll through your timeline to figure it out. (Good luck re-writing your personal history with that kind of option!)

But if a FaceBook Page Liker wants to find a conversation she had with you and your other fans (or likers) about a new product you launched back in August, she’ll have to scroll through multiple dozens (or more) screen refreshes to get to it.

What Do I Know?

What do I know about FaceBook’s plans? Nothing. They may update their site to add amazing enhancements to Business Pages tomorrow. But they may not (and something tells me …)

My antennae are definitely up. I’ve seen FaceBook cause a tool used by small businesses to vanish overnight (remember Groups?), without so much as a second thought. It would not surprise me at all if they treated some business pages (maybe the ones administered by brands that don’t buy a certain number of ads?) in a similar fashion.

Can’t Blame FaceBook

Who can blame FaceBook? They make buckets of money selling ads. And the more friends and status updates you post to your personal profile, the more information FaceBook collects about you. The more information FaceBook collects about you, the better they can craft their ad programs.

Stated differently, FaceBook wants everyone to be a customer, ether directly through FaceBook (by buying advertising) or by sharing so much information that the companies that buy ads will buy more ads because the demographics are so pristine and up-to-date. It’s pretty simply really.

FaceBook’s elves are very busy this week. Who knows how things will look tomorrow. But this sure is plenty food for thought for today.

Back To Your Valuable Time

Oh, and how does all this fit into the advice I offered yesterday? Well, to me, it means it’s time for all small and independent business owners to shore up the marketing outlets they own and control. That’s the only sure-fire way to let FaceBook be FaceBook without having to change your marketing strategy every time they change theirs. That’s no way to run a business now, is it?

Here are a few of my prior blog posts to illustrate the importance of owning and controlling your core marketing outlets:

1. Don’t spend more time figuring out FaceBook’s plan than you do figuring out your own
2. Twitter is Icing, Not Cake
3. The Illusion of Free (video)
4. The Importance of Owning Your Core Marketing Outlets and Content (video)
5. Did You Panic When Twitter and FaceBook Went Down Today? (video)

Does this resonate? Is it helpful?

So that’s how I see it — today.

Question: How do you see it — today?

New Call! 60-MINUTE EMAIL MARKETING

I’m excited to announce How To Create and Publish Your Email Newsletter in Just 60 Minutes A Week, for my IBN members and Proteges. Tuesday, September 27, 8:00pm (NYT); 5:00pm (LA). For details, click here!

Don’t spend more time figuring out FaceBook’s plan, than you do figuring out your own

Donna Maria — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:06:26 +0000

This week, FaceBook began rolling out extensive updates to its website. As explained at the FaceBook blog, the new personal profile page layout is a “timeline,” with a home for all your great stories. There are also apps that FaceBook says will “allow you to express who you are through all the things you do.” And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of what we see on the front on the front end.

On the back end, Mark Zuckerberg and his team is updating the business plan to improve the service so we’ll use it more, so they can sell more ads and make more money. Love it or hate it, that’s the bottom line. The interface we see on the front end is a reflection of meticulous business planning that is constantly going on behind the scenes.

And isn’t that what business is about? Setting goals, making plans to achieve them, executing the plans, and tweaking as you go to maximize the chances that you’ll achieve the goals. Soooo ….

When was the last time you updated your business plan?

Do you have a business plan?
Do you review your plan regularly to replace old marketing strategies with new ones?
Do you regularly ditch products that aren’t selling well?
What are you doing to increase your newsletter subscriptions so more people will be exposed to your products?
Are you systematizing your social media outreach so you can spend more time “on” your business than “in” it?

Just some things to think about this weekend.

If you are so inclined, you can keep up with the latest FaceBook updates at the FaceBook Blog.

Use an egg timer if you must. But don’t spend more time figuring out FaceBook’s plan, than you do figuring out your own.

Question: How much time have you spent this week on your business plan, compared to how much time you’ve spent figuring out FaceBook’s? Just sayin’.

What Fourth Grade Math Word Problems Can Teach You About Using Social Media To Serve Your Customers

Donna Maria — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 20:11:08 +0000

While helping my daughter with her 4th grade word problems this afternoon, it occurred to me that the process she must follow the get a correct answer to a word problem is similar to the process small business owners must follow to use social media to help a customer get an answer to their questions or problems.

It really boils down to these 4 things:

Read. My daughter’s inclination is to skim the problem, jump to the end, and answer quickly so she can go outside and play. I reminded her to simply read the problem first. Just read it to get an overview of what it was all about. Get the details in a minute, but first, just read the problem.

The social media corollary is to read blog posts and articles about how the social media tool you want to use is meant to be used, and how other small businesses are using it. I’m amazed at how many people skip this step and start blasting information and friend requests without even doing a Google search to get basic information about how a service works.
Listen. In the case of a fourth grade word problem, after my daughter reads the problem to get the big picture, it’s time to focus on what information the problem is providing. Does Johnny have 6 balls? Does Susie have two triangles? How many parallelograms are there? By internalizing the information contained in the problem, my daughter will see a picture begin to develop. I encourage her to draw an illustration. Visuals can be so helpful.

The social media corollary is to listen to what people are telling you on Twitter, FaceBook, etc. What are their interests? Their problems? What matters to them? What makes them happy? What angers them? What makes their lives better? What makes them worse? Listen to your customers and prospects so you can learn about them.
What’s being asked generally? The next step in our word problem journey is to determine generally what is being asked of you. In my daughter’s case, this means identifying how many questions she has to answer, and focusing in on what they are. Does she have to provide a number answer, or a word answer? Does it have to be provided in any special format?

The social media corollary is to listen to your customers’s questions. Whether they are asking you or someone else, listen carefully to the questions. Now, you know everything you need to know to serve your them.
What’s being asked of you? (Subtle difference from Question 3.) Answer the questions. I reminded my daughter not to answer the questions she wanted to answer, or the questions she should have been asked, or the questions she thinks she’s being asked. I told her to be crystal clear — answer the precise questions she is being asked.

The social media corollary is to provide your customers with answers to their questions, solutions to their problems. Don’t give them what you think they want, or what they should be asking for, or what you think they should be asking for — try to give them exactly what they are asking for.

If you’ve done a fairly decent job of reading to educate yourself and of listening to what you are being told and of listening to what’s being asked of you, you are then positioned to deliver results.

And that’s how you use social media to serve you customers.

Question: What do you think?

4 Types of Blog Content That Get Results

Donna Maria — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:32:22 +0000

One of the speakers at #SocialFresh Charlotte today is Derek Halpern, who shared tips to create profitable synergies between your blog and your email newsletter.)

Here’s what Derek said about segregating content into 4 categories that will increase readership and engagement at your blog.

Research. People like finding and learning things that are based on research. Conduct experiments and report the data, or share the studies and surveys conducted by others. Provide your commentary for context, and encourage people to share their feedback.
Results. People like seeing other people get results, because it helps them visualize themselves getting similar results. That’s why testimonials work. When a customer tells you she got good results from using your products, share it at your blog. This works with everything from weight loss tactics to beauty products to social media strategies.
Controversy. Derek says people can’t resist a fight, so start one at your blog and watch the sparks fly. (Side note: I am not a fan of this tactic.)
Behind the scenes peeks. Giving people a “sneak peek” at how you make your products is always fun. Who doesn’t enjoy watching the glass blower blow the glass they will soon display on their coffee table? Not only do people like this type of content for themselves, but Derek says they also tend to share it enthusiastically.

So now, you’re thinking, “Great, I have more readers.” How do I translate them into sales?”

Good question! I will publish more of what I learned from Derek in tomorrow’s newsletter. Subscribe to find out how to turn your new readers into promising sales leads.

WANT MORE TIPS?

For more tips to help your small business attract more customers, sign up for my weekly newsletter featuring creative ideas to grow your business in any economy, on any budget!

I’m In Saponifier Magazine!

Donna Maria — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 15:38:43 +0000

I am thrilled to be featured in the current issue of Saponifier Magazine! Published bi-monthly by Kathy Tarbox of Petal Pusher Press, Saponifier is the online digital magazine for soap, toiletry and candle makers.

In this issue, I was interviewed about how to use technology, social media technologies in particular, to enhance your business success. This issue is packed with super content, including an interview with IBN member Marge Clark about The Essentials of Essential Oils, and also IBN member Marla Bosworth’s article Moroccan Gold: The Beauty of Incorporating Argan Oil in Soaps and Skincare Products.

Many thanks to Beth Cole Byrne of Soap and Garden, who interviewed me and authored the article.

I am thrilled to be included in Kathy’s lovely publication. She and the magazine have a very special place in my heart because I contributed an article to the premier issue, a recipe for a products I called Ballerina Butter. That would be from Volume I, Issue I — way back in 1999. Kathy, has it really been that long …?

If you have a bath and body business, do yourself a favor and subscribe to Saponifier today. And if you’re an IBN member, get a discount using the member code here.

Join Me At Social Fresh Charlotte, And Enter To Win A Complimentary Ticket

Donna Maria — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:12:04 +0000

I confess, I love to attend conferences. Whether big or small, physical or virtual, I have enjoyed many benefits personally and professionally, so I attend as often as I can. For a few days next week, I’ll be learning and networking with Peter Shankman and other marketing and social media practitioners at Social Fresh right here in my adopted hometown of Charlotte, on September 6 and 7.

Hosted by my friend, Jason Keath, Social Fresh is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to connect with other small business owners and raise the professional image of your business. In a few minutes, I’m going to tell you how you can win a complimentary ticket ($500 value) to join me. First, here are just a few of the things you can look forward to at Social Fresh Charlotte.

Build relationships and expand influence. Developing and nurturing relationships with other small business owners is critical to your success. Doing so helps you stay sharp and is a constant reminder to continually improve your personal presence and remain in growth mode (whatever growth means to you).
Sharpen your marketing skills. Whether you acknowledge it or not, if you have a business, you are the chief marketing officer — especially if you are the only employee. It’s more important than ever to capitalize on every opportunity to improve your marketing techniques so you can streamline and maximize your sales process.
Challenge yourself. After attending a conference, I am always challenged to actually do something. Conference attendance is just the beginning. Staying connected with proactive people after an event will challenge you to put what you learn into immediate, real and consistent action.
Multiply your “cool” factor. Meet Peter Shankman. (That was a joke. Kind of.)

About Social Fresh Charlotte

Social Fresh Charlotte features several well known speakers, most notably Peter Shankman of Help A Reporter Out, Justin Levy (author of The FaceBook Marketing Book), and CNN and Fast Company contributor James Andrews. You can see the full speaker list here, and don’t forget to check out the agenda.

Follow Social Fresh on Twitter.

How To Win A Complimentary Ticket!

Would you like to attend Social Fresh Charlotte on me? That’s right, I have a complimentary ticket, and it could have your name on it.

To be entered to win, leave a comment below by midnight EST on September 1, 2011 (that’s tomorrow!!) Tell me why you deserve a complimentary ticket to Social Fresh Charlotte, and share how you think attending will help you in your business. You don’t have to go on forever but try not to be boring. You know, make it interesting.

While it’s not required to enter, I should would appreciate it if you’d click the FaceBook LIKE link to share this post with your friends, especially if you are in Charlotte.

If you don’t need a ticket, please tell a friend.

How To Find Out If You Won

I’ll pick a winner based on their original comment, and notify everyone in a blog post this weekend. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss it if you enter.)

Question: So, why do deserve to win a complimentary ticket to Social Fresh Charlotte?

How To: Host a Party At Your FaceBook Page

Donna Maria — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:44:09 +0000

My blog contains tons of tips to help you attract people to your FaceBook Page. Some of my most popular posts in this regard are here and here. But here’s the thing, once you get people there, what do you do next? The more people at your Page, the more popular you and your products appear to be. But that does not always translate into sales leads. To make that happen, you have to engage with the people who are there, and one way to do that is via a FaceBook Party.

I’m not talking about anything complicated or fancy either. Anyone can follow these tips for hosting a fun FaceBook Party that helps people learn more about what you have to offer. Here are the basic steps to follow.

Check your insights. The right column of your FaceBook Page contains a link called Page Insights. Click that to see basic information about interaction on your page. Pay special attention to the Interactions statistics, which reflect the days your Page enjoys the most interactions. My insights reflect the most Interactions on Mondays and Thursdays, so for me, those are the best days to consider hosting an event.

Depending on how deep you want to go, you can see even more statistics, including daily active users, number of UNLIKEs per day, number of content LIKEs and more. Go as far as you want, but to keep things easy, just use the Interactions insights and pick a day that your Page gets the most interaction

Even though the Interactions may not be beautifully predictable, this is a good starting point.
Pick a day and time frame. Once you see what day your Page generally gets the most Interactions, pick the best time for an event. According to some FaceBook gurus, 11:00am EST is a popular time for people to be on FaceBook. While statistics are great, the truth is that they are just statistics. They may not reflect real life on your FaceBook Page.

Dump the statistics if they don’t reflect your reality.

Check your insights to see the time of day that’s most popular on your Page. Honestly, mine are all over the place, so when I host an event, I use Interactions to pick the best day, and my own schedule and raw instinct to pick the best time.

An important note about time: create a specific start time and a specific end time. You have to value your time and others’s time, and sticking to a start and end time does that. It also ensures that your LIKERs know exactly when the event starts and when it ends. This allows people to schedule it into their busy day and frees you up to be present for the entire event. I suggest starting with a 15-minute long event. It’s long enough to be significant, but short enough so you’re not stuck for an hour if no one shows up. It also lets your LIKERs know that you are only expected a limited amount of their time.
Pick a theme. Select something that syncs with your LIKERs’s interests. It may take some time to figure this out, but it’s not hard. As you post to your Page, you’ll begin to see patterns of response. Select 5 or 6 topic areas and begin to post to your Page regularly about those topics. Watch for a month or so to see what people respond to and what they ignore. Those are clues to what a good event theme will be.

As Cyndi Lauper said, “Girl just wanna have fun!” “Fun” will be defined differently depending on your particular business. Generally, people love contests and games. They also love learning new things and getting useful commentary from you about the news and information of the day. Depending your business, you have many options.

- An aromatherapy expert could host a wellness party
- A business consultant could host a business book club meeting
- A fitness expert could host a 15-minute exercise program

You might even do what IBN Member Dawn Fitch did at her Pooka Page — she hosted a Pooka Oscar Party and invited people to vote for which of three Pooka products should win the Oscar. People posted votes, and the winning product went on sale a few days later. You can see the all the fun they had here.

Note that people RSVP’d to attend the event, creating even more buzz when their RSVP posted to their news feed! And how cool is it that FaceBook maintains an event archive so you can remind people of how much fun your events are. This also makes it easy to blog about the event — just link to the FaceBook event archive.

What would suit your business? A Wimbledon Party? Teen Choice? A party around a specific television series? A live virtual conference you are attending? The possibilities are endless.

Just let your LIKERs’s be your guide!

Make sure you select a theme that is meaningful and fun for them. If the first theme you select is a dud, don’t give up. Ask them what they want, and then give it to them. Once they see that you are committed to sharing with them in ways that make a difference in their lives, they will generally be more than happy to critique your efforts and tell you what they like and what they don’t like — but they must see you giving it your best before they will give it theirs.
Announce it. Once you’ve selected the date, time frame and theme, it’s time to announce the event. This is the easiest part. Now, you could go crazy and announce it in a billion different places, but don’t drive yourself nuts with that. I suggest announcing it in at least these places:

-The FaceBook Page itself (so obvious)
- On Twitter (use a scheduler like HootSuite or CoTweet to schedule announcements in advance)
- At your blog (if you have one)
-At the INDIE Social Events Calendar– if you are an IBN member, you can promote your events to the 7,000 people there, and the INDIE Team will help you spread the word.

Use a graphic if you can, either one you create or an inexpensive image from someplace like Fotolia.
Plan it. Once you decide on a theme, planning is not hard at all. The first thing you want to do is make sure you ask your personal friends to join the event for a few minutes so your event is not a ghost town. Select people who support your business, and will take a few minutes of time to rally around you to make your event a success. Send them a reminder the day before the event, and 30 minutes before the event to help them remember. Offer a discount code as incentive if you need to.

If your event is 15 minutes long, show up a few minutes early and start the fun by letting everyone know you’re there. Plan a few theme-related questions in advance, and then throw them out to the group. Engage the people who respond and have fun with it! Start with something short, like 15 minutes, so if the event is not well attended, you end it on your own terms, and not because no one showed up.

Have fun!

This is admittedly basic, but that’s the whole point. No two businesses are alike, so if you follow these simple steps, your FaceBook LIKERs will eventually tell you what they like and don’t like. They’ll literally take all the guesswork out of the process by telling you what they want to see next.

So, after a bit of a startup learning curve, you’ll be able to easily host an event at your FaceBook Page. You’ll even be able to use video, as I have done previously. But that’s for another post. You have to start with the basics, and this is pretty basic.

Now, Back To The Sales

So back to the original point — generating more sales. Once you have entertained people for a bit, there’s nothing at all wrong with ending things with a link to your site or blog where they can access information about your products and services, or even better, a link to where they can subscribe to your newsletter. In fact, if you don’t do this, you’re missing out.

Make sure you end things with a call to action so people can take an action you want them to take after your event ends.

Question: Are you willing to give it a try? If so, don’t forget to invite me to your party!! You can catch me on Twitter or FaceBook!

WANT MORE TIPS?

For more tips to help your small business attract more customers, sign up for my weekly newsletter featuring creative ideas to grow your business in any economy, on any budget!

#HandmadeChat Will Crowdsource Handmade Business Tips and Strategies

Donna Maria — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 04:00:36 +0000

If you’ve been around my blog long enough, you know I’ve experimented previously with Twitter Chats. In case you don’t know, Twitter Chats are subject-matter conversations that occur on Twitter. #SmallBizChat is a good example, and I’ve been a #SmallBizChat guest twice (here and here). I hosted a few #INDIEChat events back in 2009to test drive things, but the technology wasn’t where it needed to be to make it fun and easy.

The technology has advanced a lot since then. Not only that, more handmade businesses are actively engaged on Twitter. The time is right for #HandmadeChat, designed to help you crowdsource tips and strategies to grow your handmade business! #HandmadeChat takes place Thursday evening from 8:00pm to 8:30pm EST, with an After Party from 8:30 to 9:00 for those for whom 30 minutes of all things handmade is simply not enough. Here are the details.

This is no ordinary Twitter chat. Instead of having special guests or experts, I will host the chat, and you will be the experts. That’s right, you can share your success stories and questions, as you get your questions answered. A rising tide lifts all ships, in case you didn’t know.

What Topics Will be Featured on #HandmadeChat?

I’ll share the Featured Topic for this week in a minute, but first, I want you to know that, each week, we’ll feature a different topic. Eventually, you will choose the topics via a survey I’ll set up, but to get things started, I’m choosing the topics for the first few #HandmadeChats. The topic for this Thursday, August 18, is . As we grow, we’ll feature every handmade topic you can think of. Here are some of my first ideas:

- finding the best craft and artisan shows
- how to use a blog to increase sales
- how to take photos to showcase your products
- DIY social media tips
- how to set up a beautiful display booth on a budget
- how to use video to showcase your handmade products
- how to find the best ingredients and supplies
- how to build community around your handmade brand
- best soapmaking techniques
- best candle making techniques
- best cosmetics making techniques
- and much more more!

Can you just imagine the fun?

How Will #HandmadeChat Be Organized?

Our 30-minute chats will be organized as follows:

-introduction of the chat sponsor
- introduction of the chat host for the week
- 3 questions around the chat topic that week
- community brainstorming tips, questions, experiences and ideas

The goal of #HandmadeChat is to connect you to others in the handmade community nationwide, to help you get new ideas and energy, and to make it easier for customers, both retail and wholesale, to find you and our handmade products.

How does that sound?

Who Should Participate in #HandmadeChat?

You should participate in #HandmadeChat if you:

- are passionate about all things handmade
- you have a handmade business and like getting new ideas to make it more successful
- you enjoy meeting other handmade artisans and crafters
- you are a giving person who like to share your knowledge and success, as you also learn from others

To participate in the Twitter chat, use the hashtag #HandmadeChat on Thursdays at 8:00pm EST.

How To Join #HandmadeChat

Joining #HandmadeChat is super easy, using TweetChat. At 7:55pm this Thursday, August 18, do this:

- log onto TweetChat
- Click Login in the upper right to log into Twitter using your Twitter username and password
- Click “Authorize App” to return to TweetChat
- Type in “handmadechat” (without the quotes) in the space at the top

This will take you to the chat where you’ll see real time conversations of everyone participating during #HandmadeChat. You’ll probably see some of your friends, and when you do, you can use the icons on the screen to Reply, Retweet, Favorite and Follow them! To start chatting, just type your chat in the text window. The number to the right counts down how many characters you have left before you reach 140. The #handmadechat hash tag will be automatically added to your Tweets, and will be searchable on Twitter (which is indexed by Google), as you can see here. You can even click “pause” to pause the chat in case it’s going too fast for you.

How Can I Sponsor #HandmadeChat?

#HandmadeChat will be publicized via this blog and multiple media outlets I maintain, including INDIE Social, the INDIE Business Podcast, INDIE FaceBook Page, the #HandmadeChat FaceBook Page and the Indie Beauty Network FaceBook Page. Sponsors’s brand will be displayed multiple times during the week of the chat at those locations, with links and tags for maximum engagement and exposure.

If you are interested in sponsoring #HandmadeChat, please email me.

Each week, I will publish a recap of the chat, featuring the best questions, ideas, tips and success stories shared b the community.

Follow HandmadeChat on Twitter and join us on FaceBook to stay abreast of the latest. I’m stoked!

#HandmadeChat Topic For August 18, 2011, 8pm EST

The topic for this weeks’ #HandmadeChat is:

organizing your handmade studio around your home and/or home office

Participants will be invited to share their best tips for organizing and maintaining adequate space for the manufacturing part of business, as well as the business and administration part of business. Be thinking about what questions you have, and what tips you can share. You’ll also be invited to share links to photographs of the studios where you make your amazing products so we can share them with each other and the world — soaps, jewelery, candles, sugar scrub, perfume — you name it!

See you on TweetChat at 8pm EST on Thursday, August 18!

Question: What do you say? What topics would you like to see us help each other with on #HandmadeChat?

Video: After Your Final Status Update

Donna Maria — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 16:20:03 +0000

As you know, I’m all about life. I live it to the fullest and I don’t dwell much on things that could be considered negative or scary. But yesterday, as I drove past the franchised Fred Astaire dance studio in my neck of the woods yesterday, I began to think about how amazing it is that a man who died in 1987 is still making money. He’s doesn’t get to enjoy it of course, but his brand has so much stamina that dance instructors stake their entire business model on it.

But franchising is just the tip of the ice berg when it comes to dead people “living on.” Who could forget the controversial DirecTV ad featuring Chris Farley, which aired 12 years after he died? In this 5:30 video, Adam Ostrow briefly explores the idea that everyone using social media these days is creating a vast universe of content that will live on after we die. In the video, Adam shares the following statistics:

- every minute, 48 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube
- Twitter users collectively create 200 million Tweets each day
- every FaceBook user posts an average of 90 pieces of content to the site each day

Those statistics are astounding! So, have you thought about what will happen to all of this content after you die? I’m not trying to be morbid or anything, but the truth is that the only thing all of these social media contributors have in common is that they will all die someday. So what should happen to their content? What do you want to happen to yours?

In the video, Adam lists the following services designed to help you have some input into the process:

If I Die: create a video or a text message to be published after you die
One Thousand Memories: record and share the life of a loved one, and discover the memories of others through our network.
My Next Tweet: this site analyzes your past online social behavior and uses it to predict your next Tweet

For kicks, I put my Twitter name into My Next Tweet, and here’s what it spit out:

I have the option of Tweeting it, but since it makes absolutely no sense (and I have never Tweeted about a “Clearance Event”), you can see that the potential is there. As technology advances, I have no doubt that services like this will be able to Tweet exactly like me, so much so that my Twitter stream would offer no hint of my demise.

It’s pretty amazing, albeit a bit morbid, yes? But while it’s not pleasant to think about death, it is in fact a part of life.

More importantly, at least for purposes of this blog, what could it mean for your business? Can you contract with someone to continue your Twitter stream, paying a certain amount of money each month into your estate in exchange for access to your followers for a period of time? Or what about your FaceBook Page, or your email list? Weird, I know. I’m just thinking.

But maybe I think too much … your turn now.

Question: Do you like the idea of these types of services? What do you think they could mean in terms of the definition of a lifetime, both from a human and a business perspective? Please share your ideas and impressions in the comments section below.

(You can follow (the very much living) Adam Ostrow on Twitter here.)

Enter To Win Free Images From Fotolia!

Donna Maria — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 01:09:08 +0000

In 10 Things That Make a Blog Stink, I shared my strong opinion that every blog post should have an accompanying graphic that illustrates the main points of the post. I also told you about Fotolia, one of the best resources for reasonably priced stock images.

One of the reasons people tell me they don’t blog much is because it’s hard to find quality images for their posts without spending a fortune. Of course, I think the best images are pictures you take yourself, but since even they are not always available, a good stock image site can be a blogger’s best friend. INDIE Business Blog to the rescue, right?! Thanks to my friends over at Fotolia, I have 20 coupon codes for 42 free Fotolia images to give away. For a chance to snap one up, you must do these two things:

Leave a comment below in the Disqus comment area. Tell me why you think images from Fotolia will help you improve your blog or other website. Try not to be boring, you know, make it interesting.
Cut and paste your comment to the INDIE FaceBook Page. Cut and paste your comment as a person, NOT as a Page, at this special post I set up at the INDIE FaceBook Page so we can meet you.

While it’s not required to enter, I should would appreciate it if you’d click the FaceBook LIKE link to share this post with your friends!

Take a look at some of the images on Fotolia and try out the search engine so you can get an idea of the variety and quality you have have at your blog — for free! You can even share a graphic you find that you think will be perfect for your blog!

On Wednesday, or as soon as I have at least 20 different comments here and at the FaceBook Post (whichever comes first), I will select 20 people, based solely on my own evaluation of what you say bout why you want a coupon code. If you are selected, you’ll get an email from me and I will announce your name here and on the FaceBook Page. If you don’t get an email, well, you know what that means.

Question: So, why do you want some of these juicy coupon codes from Fotolia?

You’re Invited To Blast Off Your Family Business: July 27, 2011

Donna Maria — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:40:13 +0000

If you’re in the Charlotte area and you have a family business (or are in the process of starting one), join us for an evening of networking, learning and family encouragement as my husband an I share powerful ways to use branded media on FaceBook to expand your influence and increase opportunities to sell your products and services. Here are the details:

As you can see, we have a super event planned. And we’re not just going to pontificate — oh no! We’re going to roll up our sleeves with you at your computer and show you step-by-step how to do the things I have done over the years to build a successful business and create new business opportunities that will last a lifetime.

Won’t you join us? You know you wanna!! Seating is limited, and to make sure we have space and enough food (6:30 is dinner time after all!), be sure to sign up and get your share of grub and family business inspiration, encouragement and know-how!

Video: Family Business TV: Episode 1: Using A Blog To Achieve Personal and Professional Goals

Donna Maria — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 14:41:38 +0000

Well, it’s actually Episode 2 (see Episode 1 here), but my husband wants to start fresh since he is using a different technology for the show now. In this episode, we talk about using a blog to achieve your personal and professional goals. We also threw in a bit about using FaceBook effectively.

It’s 28 minutes long, and it’s really fun. I talk way too much at the beginning, but in my defense, I get so excited when I share about how blogging has enhanced my life, and how it can enhance yours. I’ll be better next time. If you scroll forward to 24 minutes, you’ll see our lovely daughter share a bit about how we are introducing her to social media by teaching her how to blog.

To find out how to join his show live next week, follow along at the Family Business TV FaceBook Page.

P.S. – If you want to know why the show is cut off at the beginning, and why we got off to a bit of a “chilly” start, read the story in my newsletter entitled You Still Have To Make The Donuts.

Question: If you have young children, are you teaching them how to blog?

InfoGraphic: Fun With Oprah and Visual.ly

Donna Maria — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 18:25:05 +0000

Have you heard of Visual.ly? It’s a cool new program that allows you to create infographics by plugging in data and then choosing graphic options to display information in a way that’s easy for people to digest. I love infographics but I am not a designer so it’s always been a challenge to create them. Well, those days may be gone now that there’s Visual.ly. Here’s an information graphic I created today displaying Twitter date for me and Oprah Winfrey.

So — me? “Unfazed?” I’m not smiling in the graphic, and — well, you know me — I’m always smiling. I think I’ll have to start using in my Tweets more so I can change that. Here’s more about how I interpret this infographic.

Interesting Tidbits

I must be Tweeting about food a lot. (I won’t say what I think of that.) As the leader of INDIE Business Book Club, it makes sense that the graphic reveals that I am obsessed with books and reading. So I’m walking around with a fork in one hand and a book in another. Wow!

It also shows that I’m a big ReTweeter and I’m very social. Both so true.

When compared to Oprah, however, I’m clearly not interesting. (Who is? LOL!)

Toward the bottom, you can see my “strongest connections,” some of which I could have guessed myself (@bellalucce), but some of which are surprises. Not sure how they figured those out.

At the bottom, you can see that I Tweet mostly about “love,” “business,” and “handmade.” Oprah Tweets a lot about her show and people. Both seem right on the money to me!

How You Can Use Visual.ly

I can think of tons of ways you can use this. For example, you could create a graphic showing statistics about your best selling products. Wouldn’t that be a great addition to a presentation to your wholesale customers?

How about about making a graphic showing your sales growth over the years? Or displaying the Farmer’s Markets you participate in, or how your small business is contributing to your local economy? The possibilities are endless!

According to the Visual.ly website, the full application will launch soon. I hope there’s a reasonably priced option for small and independent business owners like us. In the meantime, as I did, you can create your own Twitter infographic here.

Question: What do you think of Visual.ly? Do you notice any ways you might use it in your business?

Introducing Family Business TV on FaceBook

Donna Maria — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 19:54:55 +0000

I am dropping a quick note to let you know about my husband’s new Family Business TV FaceBook Page. You can watch the video from the first Family Business TV Show here. Since that show, on New Year’s Day this year, Darryl has been tweaking this and that, and the time is right now to launch on FaceBook.

As you know, he’s been working with different technologies to launch the best platform to reach family businesses with his message of empowerment and tenacity. It’s not easy running a family business, especially when you work from home and have children under foot like we do. But we’re doing it, and the new FaceBook Page will make it easier for Darryl to meet with people who can learn from our experiences managing a family business for the past 11 years. (Has it been that long?)

Thank You Friends!

Here are links to the Pages with owners who LIKEd the new page quickly enough to allow Darryl to secure the vanity in just a few hours: Valana Minerals, SunRose Aromatics, Success By Choice, Soapylove, Karen Bowlding (my cousin), Sandbar Soaps, Manor Hall Soap Co., SocialMeinc, EcoOffice Gals, Harmony Bath & Body, Affordable Artisanal Soaps, Anya’s Garden, Neos Creations, Wingsets Aromatherapy and GCDSpa.

Please visit and LIKE all of those pages, and get to know some amazing people in the process. Most of the people behind these pages are members of IBN, which takes my personal appreciation level up a notch.

Question: Do you have a family business? Tell us about it, and leave your FaceBook Page link here so we can like your Page too!

Are You Blogging, or Bogging?

Donna Maria — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 02:11:47 +0000

As you know, I’m a big fan of blogging, not only for business and search engine juice, but also as a personal development tool. While I believe that a blog can help any business be more successful, it can also bog businesses — and business owners — down and become a noose around their neck. This is especially true if you are not in the actual business of blogging, or the business of providing services or information products that can be easily sold at your blog.

So what do you do? Not blog at all? Not a good option. (Here’s why.) Or maybe you could just have a blog and let it sit there collecting dust? Hmmm, not so much. (Here’s why.) There is another option. What if you just relaxed a little and blogged according to what naturally fits into your life and helps you connect with your customers? Let’s see what that might look like by looking at some exemplary IBN member blogs.

Blog once a week. You don’t have to blog every day. While I do believe you should set specific days to publish posts, you can choose what those days should be. And it can be just once a week.

I love love love how my IBN member Katherine Corkill does this at her Sterling Minerals Blog. Katherine publishes a wonderfully informative post once a week, typically on Thursdays. One of my recent favorites is this one, about an interesting Shark Tank contestant.

Katherine works on her posts as time permits each week, and doesn’t worry about blogging more than once a week. Each post is about something that matters to her, often issues surrounding women’s health and beauty. I always learn something new when I read her blog, and I eagerly look for each new post. They are well researched and detailed. I get something consistent and informative, and Katherine produces worthwhile content each week without making herself crazy.
Blog what you love. Don’t worry about whether it’s related to your business. Just blog what you care about. If you have a passion for a particular author, blog about that author and his or her books. If you have a passion for running, blog about your running experiences. You can always share a bit about your business here and there, and your sidebars can contain links to your ecommerce site or your FaceBook Page.

As you blog regularly without driving yourself nuts, you will find that your target customers will enjoy reading about your passion and getting to know you better. This will encourage them to trust you, and if they are predisposed to buy your products, they will be even more likely to do so because they find that they like you as a person. Similarly, as people discover you for your products alone, they get a bonus when they find out that you have a blog where you share something with the world that really matters to you.

A super example of this is Maggie Hanus of A Wild Soap Bar. Maggie generally blogs three or four times a month about life on her Texas farm and soapmaking studio. This post is about her sweet little newborn grandson, this one is about green living, this one is about the wild flowers growing outside her studio, and this one is about the bobcat she saw in her back yard (and there’s a photo — gulp!). Maggie is very passionate about those things, but none of them are closely related to her business or the products she sells. When I read her blog, I am connected to her as a person. I am reminded of her commitment to creating great products, and I am encouraged to click over to her site to see what’s new, or tell a friend about her.

As you can see, Maggie does not blog every day. She doesn’t even blog every week. But when she does, she shares her personality and her heart. This makes buying her products a rewarding experience from the inside out.
Blog the media that are easiest for you. If you hate the writing process, then don’t write much at your blog. Of course you need a title for your posts and a few sentences, but the meat of your posts can be a photo, an audio clip or a video.

One of the best examples of this is Debbie Chialtas at Soapylove. I don’t know whether or not Debbie likes to write, but I do know that she is a superior designer. She loves color and she knows how to use it. Her blog posts, while not frequent, always incorporate color.

For example, she includes photos she takes, videos other people create, and instructional soapmaking tutorials, like this one, that incorporate photos of the project as she teaches you how to make it yourself.

Katherine, Maggie and Debbie prove that you can have a super great blog without blogging every day and without killing yourself to write like Ernest Hemingway.

Having a blog is important now and I believe it will be important in the future. But blogging doesn’t have to become bogging. Follow Katherine’s, Maggie’s and Debbie’s example and blog what you love using media that make it easy for you to convey your passion to the world.

Question: Are you blogging, or bogging? And if the latter, does this post help you change that?