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3 Essential Tools To Rock Your Online Marketing

To effectively manage your online marketing efforts you should be making the most of your website, your email list and your social media.  Obviously, if you are handling all of these efforts yourself, you’ll need as much ease and automation as you can get.   Detailed below are my favorite tools for each of these categories along with a description about how they work, what they cost and what alternatives you might consider.

Mailchimp:  If you need to reach your clients or potential customers on a regular recurring basis, Mailchimp is a great email management program.  It is fairly simple to set up and once you create a design that works for you it can be relatively turn-key to stay connected to your audience.  Perks of using an email program are the ability to see your open rates, schedule emails and integrate sign-up forms onto your website.

  • Cost: Free for less than 2,000 subscribers or paid version begins at $10/month
  • App: Mailchimp app allows you to see campaign reports and modify subscribers
  • Alternative: Constant Contact is another well-known email management program, but I prefer MailChimp’s user interface and the monkey is just darn funny!

Hootsuite:  If are your tired of logging into each of your social media accounts separately every time you want to post something, then take a look at Hootsuite.  It is a social media program where you can track your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ (business) accounts all in one place.  With Hootsuite, you can also schedule posts for the future, do keyword and trend searches, share accounts with your social media team as well as generate reports and analytics about your social media activity.  Like Evernote and Mailchimp, there are loads of apps, plug-ins and integrations within the Hootsuite that make it a powerhouse program.

  • Cost: Free or paid version begins at $8.99/month.
  • App: App is really useful, for quick check-ins, for sharing and for engaging with your followers from your mobile device.
  • Alternative: However, if you find the Hootsuite dashboard and capabilities are overwhelming, then give Buffer a try.  It serves a similar function, but in much simpler format.

Weebly:  If you want to create a simple website that doesn’t have a totally DIY look, then Weebly is a good place to start. I have been creating websites with Weebly for almost 5 years and it has only gotten better and easier to use with each new version.  It offers  hundreds of customizable formats and styles and it’s drag-and-drop feature for content doesn’t require you to know a word of code but still allows you integrated customization options.  It also offers blog and e-commerce features, but only the basics and the Weelby stats are not entirely reliable.

  • Cost: Free or PRO account begins at $23.94/year.
  • App: The Weebly app allows you quick access to draft a blog post, check stats or respond to activity on your site, but I would advise sticking to the desktop version.
  • Alternatives: I understand that Wix and SquareSpace offer similar functions as Weebly.  However, it you want to play with the big boys you really should be using WordPress.

With effective tools in place your website, email and social media efforts will work better together to help you reach your target online audience.

Let me know in the comments below, what programs you use or what has your experience been with Mailchimp, Hootsuite and Weebly? Thanks.

What Does Your Email Say About You? Free Is Fine But . . . (Part 1 of 3)

If you are looking to streamline, upgrade or change your email communications you would probably want to know what all the options are – right? Starting with this post, we’ll explore the email landscape, so to speak, identifying the different kinds of emails, how they work, what they cost and the pros and cons of using them.

We’ll start the series with a look at free email services, the ones that most people primarily use for personal communications.

Free Email Services –
The top free email providers I would recommend are Yahoo and Google’s Gmail.

> Google Gmail – The upside of using Gmail is it is conveniently tied into the rest of the Google-sphere (Calendar, Docs, Drive, YouTube, Analytics, etc.) and so many people I know love it.  I have tried it, but I still find its interface counter-intuitive and confusing.   Maybe it’s just me, because I know so many people LOVE it. 

> Yahoo Mail – I have used Yahoo Mail for years and years and years.  I was a pretty big fan until the recent redesign (becoming more like Gmail), server outages and hacking problems.  Regardless, I like the format and think they have a pretty terrific search function.

> If you still have AOL, MSN or Hotmail as part of your email address, it means you probably haven’t been hacked and that you are perfectly fine with the service.  If you are looking to upgrade,  I wouldn’t advise using one of these as they can be viewed as technologically out of date.

> If you are using or choose to use a free service from your Internet provider or Mac (think Optonline, Bellsouth, me.com, mac.com), their services typically work well  (though their interfaces sometimes seem clunky) but remember you are then tethered to those provides and would lose your account if you switch providers.

Not matter which free service you might use, I implore you to do three things now (and on a regular basis) before crisis makes you realize “shoulda, coulda, woulda”:

1)   Back up your contacts – Just because you have a “contact” list within your email service, doesn’t mean that you have access to it if your account is hacked or shut down unexpectedly.  Backing up your contacts on your hard drive or in the cloud will allow you to have an easy-to-retrieve file from which you could upload your contacts and stay connected to your peeps.  This is especially important if you are planning to create a new email for business or professional purposes.

2)   Save important emails outside of your email program – Given that these free services offer practically unlimited capacity and pretty decent search options, many us have started treating our inboxes like filing cabinets (Hello, 16,000+ emails in my inbox!). Again, should your free email service ever become inaccessible, say good-bye to all of those images, documents, letters and important information that you meant to save.

3)   Change your password frequently – This is a regular habit of mine and I believe has helped keep my account free from hackers. (Though now I ‘ve probably jinxed it – right?)

Conclusions about using free email services . . .
Upside: Free is free!
Downside: Free is great but it’s not so great, when your account has been hacked or you get completely locked out of your account due to server outages.   Free usually means that customer service requires hours of navigating through ineffective help support FAQs (none of which are relative to your problem) to finally find a functioning help request form that takes 24 hours response time.  This is not good for your mental state or stress level when one of your major sources of communication goes kaput!

Coming up next in the “What Does Your Email Say About You” series:

  • Personalized/Business emails – What are the options?
  • Third party email services – What do they do and why do I need them?

Please share in the comments:  What email service do you use and why?  Have you had a nightmare email story? Do you have an email tip or trick you’d like to share?

4 Tips for Picture-Perfect Posting

You’ve heard the cliché, a picture is worth a thousand words.  In online communications, this couldn’t be more true.  Using images greatly increases the engagement of your followers or readers because 40% of people respond better to visual information than plain text alone. (Source: Zabisco)  Images will also help you better convey the message you are trying to make, the product you are trying to sell or the idea you are trying to explain.

So here are four things you should do when posting images online.

1) Edit – The better looking your images are, the more engaging they become and the more likely they are to be liked, commented on or shared.  It is worth spending a few minutes making sure the size, color and resolution of your images is optimal before you post it.  Don’t panic, you don’t have to be a Photoshop wiz to create quality pictures.  There are several free online photo-editing sites (PicMonkey, Pixlr, Gimp) available and most of today’s camera apps have relatively easy, but sophisticated editing tools for enhancing your images.

2) Name and ID – Google loves images, so make sure you describe and ID your image files as best you can.  For example, instead of using a picture of flowers with a file name “IMG300342.jpg” you should rename the image “JanesFloristbouquet.jpeg” before uploading it.  This will help you with search engine rankings (SEO) for your website or blog and it also helps describe the image to people who might not be able to see it.
Also, if the image is your work of art, you should consider putting your logo or watermark on it, so that when it is shared, people will clearly know the source of the image.

3) Tag –   If you are using images in social media, then consider tagging your image for wider audience. Use keywords describing what the picture is about (i.e. #menswear, #timemanagement #quote #TGIF), your image will reach others who are interested in your tags.
You can also tag people who are in a picture you are sharing.  It’s best if you get their permission, first.   When you do tag them, your image will also be shared and accessible to their followers (assuming they don’t have strict privacy controls).

4) Credit – This could possibly be the most important tip because if you don’t have permission or properly credit the source of your image (assuming it is not you), then you could be stealing.  Seriously, pulling images from a random Google image search with no attribution is no joke and could land you into legal trouble.  Most photo-sharing sites (Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, iStockphoto) offer details about the rights and permissions associated with using their images. Take the time to understand the permission rights of the images you want to use and give credit where credit is due.

So are you ready to aim, shoot, edit and post?  Let me know how your picture posting is going in the comments and check out these articles for more resources on using images online:

– 9 Best Free Image Editors – Mashable
– Five Facebook Failures with Visuals – Social Solutions Collective
– How Images Convince People You’re Not Lying (and 3 tactics for using it online)  – Social Triggers
– 9 Sites Where You Can Download Stock Photos For Free – The Virtual Assistant

Planning for a productive year

Hopefully, by now, you’ve given some thought to several things that you would like to achieve this year.  Are you planning to roll out a newsletter, become a regular blogger, learn about social media (– or maybe you just want to simply commit to exercising more).  If you haven’t given it any thought, then take a few minutes to look at your (probably pretty blank calendar) for 2014 and think about what you would like to be doing and achieve this year?

Got your goal(s) in mind?  Great!  Write it down where you will review regularly so that you can remind yourself on a consistent basis what you are working toward.  You don’t want to get distracted by the everday-ness of life and loose focus on the big picture.

Now it’s time for the “secret sauce second step” as the big disconnect for many is getting from goal setting to actually making it happen.

Break down your goal into manageable steps – Many times we don’t reach our goal or even get started on the goal because it seems too lofty, unattainable or overwhelming or we don’t know where to start.  Breaking your goal down into manageable bite-size steps will help you get started quicker and more than likely will help you create productive habits that support your goals.

For many, Step #1 is simply doing the research.  As you are figuring out your steps also think about what other resources might be involved in reaching your goal.  Can you do this by yourself?  Will you need the help of others?  Are there costs involved or set-up work that needs to happen?

Here’s an example:  Let’s say you want to get 200 followers on your social media sites or your email list, your basic steps might look like this:

  • Step #1 – Research using the Internet, attend social media class or webinar
  • Step #2 – Set-up social media account or email service
  • Step #3 – Create profile or templates
  • Step #4 – Follow or subscribe to others in your space, to figure out best practices
  • Step #5 – Introduce promotion/announcement to encourage followers
  • Step #6 – Figure out how and where you are going to source and save content and content ideas for posting and sharing
  • Step #7 – Create a regular schedule* for sourcing, posts and responding.
  • Step #8 – Review what is working best for you and adjust accordingly.

As you can see, breaking down what might seem to be an overwhelming prospect now becomes an actionable attainable process.  The key is to ensure you make time for the process.

Put it on the calendar – Now you have laid out the steps required to achieve your goal, it is very important to make the time for each of these steps.   Get that 2014 calendar back out and start scheduling realistic time for each of these steps.  Don’t just write it down on your calendar as a “to-do”.  You should literally create an actual time slot or appointment for each and every step.

For some, planning forward scheduling time for each step in a manageable sequential time frame is the best approach.  For others, it works better to set a deadline date by which you would like to have the goal achieved and work backwards to the present day building in each step.  Either way you should ensure that you have a clear picture of the time frame you are committing to achieving this goal.

Think of it this way, it is not just a calendar, but it’s your life.  “Fill it with the things that deserve to be there,” advises time management guru (and a client) Laura Vanderkam.  Having a plan will not only make you more productive, it will lead to more fulfilling life.  You will be amazed what you can achieve in a year!

Here are some resourceful articles and downloads about planning, scheduling and executing particularly for small businesses focused on their online marketing and social media.

* Want to Be More Productive? Build Your Editorial Calendar – Dorie Clark
* Don’t Let The Small Business Time Vampire Drain The Life From Your Social Media Presence – Social Collectives
* Your Daily Blogging Checklist – The SITS Girls
*Online Marketing Calendar & Checklist (Click to download) – NancySheed.com

Please leave a comment below sharing your big plans for this year.  Thanks!

Use your network

It’s right there in front of you – or at least on your phone in your contacts list or on your email server (or even in your old fashioned address book).  Right there – your network of friends, family and fans – who probably haven’t heard from you in a while and would be very interested (maybe surprised) to hear about your new business, project or accomplishment.

You don’t have to be boastful or bragging, but it would behoove you to make sure that you connect with your peeps on a regular basis.  Pick up the phone, send them a note, post some news on Facebook, accept a request on LinkedIn, or consider a fun email campaign (yes – there is such a thing as a fun email campaign).  You never know what they might need or who they might know or what great ideas they might have unless you make the connection.

Further tips and ideas about staying connected:
* Get out there in a BIG way with warm letters – Fabienne Fredrickson
* 6 Ninja Referral Tactics – Natasha Vorompiova

So before you spend loads of time, energy and money tracking down new customers or clients, make sure that you are fully engaged with the ones that you already know!