Successful Blog

5 (more) Apps That Make My Business Life Easier

by

I’m a technology magpie, flying around poking and picking up shiny objects. I bring them back to my nest and play with them for a while, trying to decide if they’re worthy of a permanent space on my phone, iPad, or desktop.

To justify my habit, I share what I’ve found. That way I can tell myself I’m doing it “for work.”

Here are the 5 mobile apps that have improved my work productivity.

Sunrise Calendar

I have to admit that I didn’t find this one. My husband did, and it was surprising to me that he was “cheating on” Fantastical, the most recent calendar app we’d fallen in love with. However, Sunrise is even more beautiful than Fantastical. It easily brings together all of your disparate calendars into one interface, and adding events is a breeze. It analyzes the words used in your event titles, and uses appropriate icons (anything with “party” in it triggers a balloon). Did I mention that it’s free?

Sunrise Calendar

Yodelay

This cool app does one thing–it helps you stay on top of your search engine rankings. You tell Yodelay which search terms you’re trying to rank for, and it will keep running data on where your site falls in the list. This is useful because it’s difficult to get “pure” unpersonalized information by searching yourself. This one is also free.

Yodelay SEO App

Lanyrd

Lanyrd on the desktop is pretty awesome, with conference/event speakers, schedules, attendee lists, and a million ways to connect with them. The mobile app is also extremely useful. Open it up during a conference, and have instant access to your fellow attendees, that conference agenda you left at breakfast, official hashtag, and more. Set up a “want to meet” alert so you never miss out on meeting those important contacts again. It’s free, and available on both iPhone and Android, as well as iPad.

Lanyrd on iPad

30/30 Task Manager

The 30/30 app is for anyone who needs extra help staying on task. Use it to set up a series of tasks, with estimated completion times, and it will alert you when it’s time to move on to the next task. The interface is easy and fun to use, and knowing there’s a clock ticking down will either spark your competitive juices, or drive you crazy. After some trial and error, I’ve decided that it’s used best for a series of recurring tasks (for example, your wake-up routine).

30/30 Task Management

vSnap

Another handy app is vSnap, a single-purpose app that just makes it crazy easy to send a quick (less than 60 seconds) personal video to your contacts. It differs from Vine or Instagram videos in that it’s meant to be a one-to-one communication. Contacts who receive the videos don’t have to have an account or login, and they simply click a link to see your video. Great for adding a personal touch to your business communications, without having to send a huge file. This one has a free version, but paid upgrades available.

vSnap video app
Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Online Jobs Every Person Must Try

by

By Peter Davidson

Survival is impossible without money unless, of course, you’ve been raised in the jungle and you can hunt with your bare hands. Whether you like it or not, you will have to adapt to the universal crisis of generating an income and supporting yourself through it.

We call it a crisis because many people, regardless of how long they’ve been playing this game, cannot seem to get the hang of it. The only thing they can be accused of is not taking the opportunities that have been made available over the last couple of years. We’re not talking about shouldering another part-time job that is situated seven blocks away from your primary workplace; we’re referring to the internet and the wonderful doors it has opened for you.

The Truth about Online Jobs

It’s normal to be excited at the prospect of earning money in the comfort of your home, but you must be warned that online jobs have a complex side that you are bound to encounter soon. We might as well tell you now that it won’t be as easy or comfortable as you originally think. Stop writing your resignation letter and save it for later, when you’ve established your virtual career. Although the web is accessible to everyone, it is not friendly to all people who wish to make a living through it. Test the waters through the online jobs listed below. You have three options from then onwards: pursue a serious career online, continue participating in online jobs for another source of income, or resort to traditional means.

Blogger on the Rise

Humans are naturally curious people; we love to probe into other people’s lives. If you doubt that fact, check the number of reality shows ongoing today. Blogging has some similarities because it is how many people share their lives with the rest of the world. The glaring difference would be the details you choose to share.

Are you a lover of art? What kind of art? Your enthusiasm for thriller novels can be turned into your greatest advantage. Publishers need the help of netizens in promoting a newly published novel. Once they see that you are a credible source for book reviews, they may offer money in exchange for your endorsement. The same principle works for travel blogs, cooking blogs, fashion blogs, and so much more, as long as you are creating compelling content.

Virtual Assistant on Demand

Computer technology has dominated the work scene since the onset of the 21st century. Businesspeople rely heavily on computers, the web, and other modern devices; however, they often don’t have time to focus on those areas of their business. Research, website creation, software installation, and related tech-skills are normally outsourced to lessen costs and to guarantee efficiency. The pay for virtual assistants depends on the work they manage to accomplish.

Survey-Taker

Paid surveys accept all kinds of people; you don’t have to worry whether your opinions are witty or have a scientific basis. Your main task here is to qualify yourself for the surveys and to answer as many surveys as you can. By qualify, we mean to promote your life in a way that will allow the surveyors to know whether you are credible to give your opinion about a certain refrigerator, car, or whatever product they’re handling.

The sole challenge that stands in your way is avoidance of fraudulent survey panels. Read about paid surveys for you to know which the real paid survey sites are. Study sites like SurveyPolice or iPoll to get an idea of how authentic panels present themselves and what other people have to say about its performance. Do this for every panel you plan to join.

Translate Your Way to the Top

Translating documents is gaining popularity online. You’re fortunate if you are capable of speaking fluently in two or more languages; you’ve just found the best outlet for that skill. Endorse your freelance translating endeavour through social networking sites. Tell your friends to recommend you to the people they know who may need the help of a translator. People pay substantial amounts of money for this service.

Author’s Bio: Peter is a blogger who is currently living in NYC. He loves working from home and earns money by freelance writing, finding and taking surveys on sites like Getpaidsurveys, training kids and working on some data entry jobs.

Niche Marketing: Creative or Creepy?

by

By Barbara Fowler

Niche-marketing: Creative or Creepy? It depends.

Yesterday I got a package in the mail. A mysterious package from Klout. I opened it up and low and behold, it contained three new products sent to me on a complimentary basis. They were VITA-K for “age spots”, VITA-K for “crow’s feet” and VITA-K for “deep facial lines” I was selected to receive these products because of my Klout score of 56, not because of my age (I just turned 60) and hopefully not because of some new “facial recognition software” that identified me as someone in great need of these products.

I signed up for Klout over a year ago. For those of you not in marketing or not familiar with it, Klout purports to measure my “influence” on the web and in social media. It gives each of us a score between 1-100 with 1 being no influence-basically incognito on the web (like my husband Tim, without a LinkedIn, Facebook or any other social account-although he does now have e-mail) and 100 (Barack Obama is a 99)

So, I am above the middle. in fact, somewhere in the 75-90 percentile. That is really not important because this post is about niche-marketing, not about Klout.

But think about what this skincare company did to market their new product.

They went to Klout and asked for people above a certain score. Then they must have also asked for some other things-gender, age, possible income, geographic location etc to further target their offering. I don’t know the specifics. I actually have no relationship to this company or this product. But I represent a “buyer persona”. More importantly, they think, based on my score, that I am more likely to talk about receiving this product and trying it. They don’t know if I will like it or not. Or maybe, they cross-referenced their offering with some sort of other weird algorithm that says I usually only review products I really like. (My mother taught me “If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.”)

In the past, to gain a market, this company would have considered magazine ads in places like, “Good Housekeeping” or “The Ladies Home Journal” or maybe “AARP “ magazine. They would have looked at TV ads for “Golden Girls” or “The Rockford Files”. How much would that have cost? That was marketing back then.

This is marketing today. It has changed. First, because there is so much information available on the web so I can do all of the research I want in advance of a purchase. And second because of the availability of data. Instead of marketing to a broad range of people-like all of those who read a magazine-companies can market to a much smaller group of people who are more likely to buy their product. The art and science of acquiring a customer base has been reinvented.

And this is not just about this product. A recent WSJ article shared how the Weather Company (formerly the Weather Channel) was helping companies pick their advertising spots. The Weather Co, supplies weather information to several smart phone apps. And now, it uses its data to help companies advertise. So, for example, if a woman is checking her weather app in Boston and it calls for rain, the advertisement shown might be for an anti-frizz product for her hair. If it calls for very hot temperatures in Atlanta, then the advertisement might be for a sale on air conditioning units. Micro-targeting then is not just based on buyer personas but also on many other variables. Effective targeting can really reduce costs and increase revenue

So, what about me? Was this effective? When I told people I had received the anti-aging product this morning, several asked if I was offended or if I though it was creepy? Not me. I was intrigued. I have already tried them and although I can’t be sure yet, I think that I might pass for no more than 59.

Please share your comments below.

Author’s Bio: Barbara Fowler is a CMO and Partner with Chief Outsiders in the Charleston, S. C. area. Follow her on twitter at @barbfow50 or contact Barbara at 908-956-4529 or email at bfowler@chiefoutsiders.com.

If You’re Skipping the Smaller Conferences, You’re Missing Out

by

Walking the exhibit hall at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is an awe-inspiring experience.

Look! There’s CNN’s camera crew. Look over here, there’s a drawing to win a new car! Come over here, there are hovercrafts you can pilot yourself. And Debbie Gibson is performing in this booth…

smaller conferences are better

The exhibits are huge, the keynotes are standing room only, and conference sessions are elbow to elbow. From what I’ve heard, SXSW is heading in the same direction…possibly too big for its own good.

That’s why I like to focus on the smaller, more intimate conferences, like SOBCon (back in 2014), Social Slam, or the upstart ConvergeSouth. There’s still plenty of room for learning new stuff, meeting new people, and forming quality relationships. There’s less swag, and more value for your money.

Why Smaller Conferences are a Better Investment

  • You can focus on a conference that dives deeply into your niche. Rather than a huge, generic marketing conference, try one that focuses on content marketing.
  • Have better conversations. When you can actually hear yourself talk, you can have those great hallway discussions that often turn into long-term relationships. With fewer people milling around, you have a better chance of having more than a quick chat.
  • Get access. Some of the smaller conferences pull in heavy hitter speakers, and you can have much easier access to meet them. Especially if you spend the little bit extra for a VIP pass.
  • Enjoy the adventure factor. Sometimes things are just more loose at a smaller conference. You might find yourself in a dive bar at the after-after-after party building memories with people you only knew online. Not that that ever happened. I’m not allowed to say.
  • Anticipate the “let’s put on a show” factor. Smaller conferences often have a hardy band of local volunteers who are shouldering the burden of hosting. It’s a fantastic opportunity to offer your help with the little things. If a speaker flakes out, you could be there when you’re needed to jump in (I’ve seen that happen). If the audio-visual hookups are wonky, you can jump up and troubleshoot. Earn the eternal gratitude of the conference team, and make some friends.
  • Spend less money. The newer, smaller conferences are cheaper, and sometimes even the peripheral expenses are lower since they are held in smaller cities. A hotel room in Greensboro, NC is much more affordable than one in New York City. And do I need to mention food costs? At a small conference in Portland, I had the most amazing grilled cheese sandwich for lunch from a food truck. Cheap and mind-blowingly delicious.

Are you ready to pack your bags? What are your favorite smaller conferences?

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

4 Online Business Ideas that Don’t Require Incorporation

by

By Ken Myers

The availability of internet access has minimized the complications that come with starting a traditional business, and it’s easier than ever to provide products and services to the public. Online businesses are subject to many of the regulations and tax laws that storefront businesses abide by, but one main advantage is that there are certain services and products you can deliver without needing to go through the formal process of incorporating. With some business idea lists reaching well over 100, the possibilities are astonishingly numerous; however, we’ve shared four ideas that anyone can do below:

Content Management

Social media marketing and management, copywriting, ghostwriting, technical writing and transcription are just a few types of content management services you can do online. The first step to tackling this career goal is to validate yourself as a professional freelance writer. Businesses and employers who need your writing skills are going to be looking for a polished portfolio and examples of previously published work. The fact that you can work for a number of clients as a sole proprietor or as an independent contractor is what makes this business so attainable. If you were to really take off, you could leverage your services by expanding and outsourcing to other writers for larger projects.

Blogging

One of the most popular and straightforward ways to make money off the internet is through blogging. Even hobby bloggers have started monetizing their blogs. Many bloggers host ads and get paid every time one of their visitors clicks on one. If a blog has an exceptionally high amount of traffic, you can give advertisers the option to place unique ads directly on the blog. Sites like Pay Per Post bridge the gap between bloggers who write for an audience and advertisers who want to reach those readers.

A blogger can also sell products as an affiliate. You can become an affiliate by marketing an eBook or reviewing an online service such as HootSuite or GoToMeeting, and then provide an affiliate link (be sure to properly disclose) that users can click to sign up. If you have a blog with high traffic or you’re interested in starting a niche blog, affiliate marketing can supplement your income. 

Multilevel Marketing

If you’re looking for a business that will make you money and give you the chance to flex your marketing muscles at the same time, then you may want to invest in an MLM, or multilevel marketing company. Amway, ACN, Thirty-One, Organo Gold, Empower Network and Scentsy are among the reputable companies that you could buy into. By signing up as an independent distributor for an MLM, you save on the substantial startup costs that it would normally take to start another business. Also, much of the work has been done for you in an MLM. The most enticing benefit is the residual income that you can earn from commissions, which means you get paid on a recurring basis from a transaction that took place once.

The companies that offer services instead of products make earning residuals incredibly easy. ACN, for instance, offers cell phone and cable packages. Every time that a customer pays a bill, the sales rep who sold that package gets paid time and again. However, the MLM business model is a bit controversial and receives split reviews around the internet community. There are many individuals who see enormous results from their businesses, and there are those who stand on the other end of spectrum, struggling and failing to close enough leads to make their investment worthwhile. If you’re a natural marketer and find a company with a product or service that you believe in, consider giving it a shot. Just do your research first and use your own judgment about whether or not it fits your budget and the time you can dedicate to the business.

eCommerce and Dropshipping

As an alternative to offering creative services, you can sell your own products through your website or another eCommerce platform. Maintaining an online store is not for the faint of heart, though, especially if you plan to operate on a third party platform like Etsy, Amazon or eBay. There will be a steep learning curve because these companies make constant revisions to their websites and procedures. One benefit of using them, however, is that they do much of the marketing for you.

There are other stores for creative products similar to Etsy that feature your products to their viewers. Zazzle, Cafepress and Artfire are among them. These websites will deduct a percentage of your profit, so if you want to retain as much of your earnings as possible then you can always set up your own store. Volusion and BigCommerce are web tools that you can use to construct an online store entirely from scratch. The end result is a site that uniquely fits your own brand and allows customers to check out directly from your website.

Both eCommerce options will require a financial investment. Selling your products will not be a get-rich-quick option. In fact, none of these online business ideas will take off overnight. If you choose a line of work that best fits your interests and lifestyle, though, the overall process will be much more smooth and, hopefully, profitable.

Share Your Thoughts
What is your experience with starting an online business? Do you have any other ideas for attainable business opportunities? If so, share them in the comments!

Author’s Bio: Ken Myers is a father, husband, and entrepreneur. He has combined his passion for helping families find in-home care with his experience to build a business. Learn more about him by visiting @KenneyMyers on Twitter.

5 Tips for Over The Top Customer Service

by

By Deb Bixler

In any home business or direct sales business, just providing good customer service is not enough in a very competitive economy.

Customer Service

You need to encourage your team members to take their customer service from bland and average to spectacular.

How do they do that?

5 Tips For Over The Top Customer Service

Here are five things to do that will make your customer service stand out from the pack by turning indifferent customers into raving fans who will return again and again.

1. Create a positive experience from start to finish. Take a look at all aspects of your company to see how customers perceive their experience dealing with your business.

Did their phone calls get answered courteously and promptly?

Were they greeted with a smile and an enthusiastic hello every time you met with them?

Did you or a team member do everything possible to find answers to their questions?

Was every point of contact enthusiastic, energetic and incredible?

It is important to view your business from the other side and then improve any area that appears lacking.

2. Engage your customers and step into their shoes.

Listen to their wants and needs. Learn to empathize with their problems. They want to believe that you care about their desires. The direct sales business is all about customer relationships and sales consultants who can truly make connections will have the inside track on making the sale.

3. Think outside the box.

Doing the same thing over and over again is boring. It is also bad for business. Though customers are sometimes resistant to change, they do enjoy surprises from time to time.

Without making wholesale changes to your way of doing business, you can still offer little surprises that delight both repeat and new customers. Creativity, imagination and ingenuity are essential ingredients for successful entrepreneurs.

4. The customer is always right.

It can be difficult at times to acquiesce to the customer’s demands and requests. However, good customer service demands that you work with your team members to get them to truly understand that the customer is always right. If you offer more service, more empathy and more understanding than your competitor, your customers will notice.

5. A little enthusiasm goes a long way.

If you are not enthused about your business, how can you expect the customer to be enthused about your products or services? Deliver your customer service with enthusiasm and excitement. Make sure that your team members also provide customer service with the same levels of enthusiasm and excitement.

Customer service should impress and inspire.

It should be grounded in the fundamental belief that you have something wonderful to offer your customers and that they are intelligent and well-informed consumers. If customers are impressed and inspired, they will pull out their checkbooks, cash and credit cards to purchase your products and services.

If they feel that your service is bland and boring, you won’t be in the direct sales business for very long.

Author’s Bio:
Deb Bixler retired from the corporate world using the proven business systems that made her a success working for others by incorporating them into her home business. In only 9 months Deb replaced her full time income with the sales and commissions from her home party plan business. Find her on Twitter: @debbixler.