Successful Blog

Choose Your Winners Wisely and Invest Unconditionally

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Relational Reciprocity

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I don’t play with every new social media tool. In fact, I ignore most of them. I’ve decided my view is that tools are vehicles for problem solving or uniquely rare opportunities for new learning. The former I go looking for when I need them. The latter show up without warning, but are few and far between.

Once the decision is made to participate, I’m in with “both feet.” I’m a saturation learner, always have been. It shows in my 14+ years of dance training, my 8 years of theater, my 35 years of education and educational publishing … even in the way I took on blogging.

Reciprocity is Relational, Not Transactional

I’ve been exploring EmpireAvenue for one year now. The game and the sociology caught my attention and offered me something new worth exploring.

The premise of Empire Avenue is that a player buys shares in other players’ participation on social media platforms across the Internet. So at first what fascinated me was the idea of getting a more rounded picture of the people who were playing the game and what was driving them — and also what would drive me.

Soon enough the game pushed the question of reciprocity.

The way the game is engineered, the currency I spend to purchase shares in your activity doesn’t flows through to you at much less. Basically, if I buy 100 shares in you, you’ll get a deposit worth about 10 of your shares. So complete reciprocity — for you to buy 100 shares back — is nearly impossible, even if my share price is WAY less than yours.

Yet some folks hold an unrealistic expectation of reciprocity — one that hurts their own success.
Their expectations seem to me out of balance with their best interests.

The reason I invest in your activity is because your shares earn value and deliver daily dividends. If I buy you I grow and pass on that growth to my shareholders. It’s a perk if you buy my shares too.

If I wait for every winner in the game to come back to buy equal shares in me — some never will. Their share price will get higher as they grow. I’ll lose the dividends I could have been earned while I waited for some transactional reciprocity.

Who loses in that scenario?
Me … not the winners I believe are ignoring me.

It works that way in everything. If I invest in you as a person, it’s because you’re growing, you add value by who you are and what you’re doing. By investing in you, I grow too!

Reciprocity is relational. Not transactional.

Plant a seed.
Watch it grow.
Enjoy the flower.

Reciprocity is the flower — color, beauty, fragrance.
It’s not “I cared for the seed. Now the seed cares for me.”
The act of helping the seed grow provided a far more powerful payoff.

It’s the same with people.

Choose Your Winners Wisely and Invest Unconditionally

An unforgiving belief in transactional reciprocity is a skewed form of not seeing the whole picture. When we close our eyes to seeing all point of view, we defeat ourselves — or as my mom would say “Cut off own nose to spite our face.”

And you can’t smell the flowers without a nose.

So if you’ve been hoarding your attention because someone’s not paying attention to you … could be you’re at the losing end of that idea. Look for the flower in the attention you’re giving. Not the seed of attention that you think you’re owed.

Build relational reciprocity by investing in what you’re willing to grow.

Choose your winners wisely and invest in them unconditionally.

Value the resources you’re investing dearly. Then offer them without fear.
For the most important, don’t hold back the blood, sweat, and tears.

See the flowers in the seeds even before you start helping them grow.
And keep your nose.

Be irresistible.
— ME “Liz” Strauss

3 Things I Learned, Lost, and Earned Being Off Social Media for 10 Days

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People or Screens

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Every morning for almost a year, I’ve been publishing photos of the sunrise over Lake Michigan. Sometimes when the afternoon is worth a photo graph I also publish a photo of the sunset too. On Twitter I greet my friends with a “Good morning, Twitterville” and a kind word. I try to check in with them via Facebook and Linkedin too.

Many of my online social interactions help me keep my day moving … as I transition from one task to another, it helps me to stop by Twitter to give my friends a shout out or to take time for a short read and a retweet. Being social online is a natural part of how my day goes by when it’s just me and the keys.

But when I’m with people, I like to be with people.
I find it hard to be where I am, if I’m looking at at screen.

What I Learned, Lost, and Earned Being Off Social Media for 10 Days

The theme of #SOBCon this year was Creating and Leveraging Opportunity. I challenged myself to do what I believed.

  • Be balanced. In this case, have my head and heart in the same place as my mind and my feet.
  • Go deep. Be a saturation learner. Meet people where they “live and think.”
  • Build a business not a birthday cake. Allow for the fact that a business is not a closed system — that flexibility is a key component to strategy.
  • People ARE the opportunity. Buildings, companies, products, technology do not have the stability or the reach of human-to-human relationships.

Last Wed., May 2, I left home with a suitcase to head downtown in preparation for our annual #SOBCon event in Chicago from there I would be speaking at CMSExpo in Evanston to arrive back home on May 10th. But things being what they are it ended up that I was hardly around on social sites until the 12th.

Before I left, I loaded up my blog with the blog posts that I had planned for the week. I also loaded up my Twitter account with some great posts I’d been reading on other blogs — articles on small business, strategy, weird science, and cool brain stuff — my favorite information to share via tweets.

When I got down to the hotel, I did some last minute planning. I went over to the event center to check a few things and pick an HP Folio Ultrabook that the Small Biz Folks at Hewlett Packard had sent for me, thinking maybe if I set it up, I’d be able to Tweet some, or post some, or connect some like a good social media do-bee. I got the computer up and rolling in no time. It’s light, intuitive, and has a huge battery life — can’t say how long it lasts yet, because, well, once I got it going, I kept turning it on and then getting involved in other things.

And in the course of 10 days, here’s what I about social media, the Internet, and me.

  • The social is more important than the media. When the choice comes to talking to the people live and in person, take it! Be where you are. Look them in the eyes. Listen actively. What I saw and experienced in the richness of a hug, a tone of voice, smiles shared, and glasses clinked is something I carry back to the Internet. I hear the voices of those same people when I see them again this week on Twitter.
  • Being in the story is faster, easier, and more meaningful than reporting it. I can only speak for my experience, but seconds I spend trying to share something with people online turn me into a reporter. When I shed the reporter’s role, I see, hear, and feel so much more. I am mindful and present. I am also calmer, more flexible, and more fluent because I can attend to and respond to the world I’m in rather than trying to translate to the world I can’t see.
  • The Internet got along fine without me. As far as I know, no one suffered greatly by my absence. The world didn’t stop turning. I had no more than 3 “must respond to” emails daily – I’m just not THAT important.

What I lost is easy to measure …

Yes, my blog traffic went down a bit. I didn’t attract as many Twitter followers as I had in the previous 10 days. My stock price on Empire Avenue dropped. My stats on Facebook now need some attention. My email inbox took about two hours to get back in order.

Laura Fitton and Liz Strauss, SOBCon 2012 by @adrants

What I earned was more lasting …

Deep real connections.
Deep real memories.
A whole lot of learning and fun.

The actual business directly attributable to these particular 10 days outpace ANY 10 days ever.

Working or playing, showing up is most important.
How can they see you, if you don’t stop long enough to be you?

#justsayin’

Be irresistible.
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Buy the ebook. Buy the Insider’s Guide to Online Conversation.

5 Ways to Promote Your Blog Offline

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by Jen Thames

Marketing and Communication

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Between tweeting and booking and blogging and pinning who has time to think about offline marketing? Offline what?:)

People at the end of the day are people. According to psychologists nonverbal communication makes up nearly 2/3 of the communications that build relationships between people. At the end of the day we are humans and things like posture, dress, voice quality and eye contact build trust and clout.

Simply put, these are the things that build 2/3 of the difference between friends, acquaintances and strangers. Now, some of us are stranger than others, and blogging is just such a great place to hide! However, getting the body beautiful out into public and cementing those online relationships in person is something most “successful” bloggers have done. Why not try it?

Wonderful, so where is the best place to market a blog offline? All those expensive “social media” conferences come to mind but actually some of the most successful offline marketing starts right in your own back yard (maybe not literally).

Traditional brand marketing can have some distinct advantages for bloggers and it’s a marketing area that is too often ignored by the web-connected. Here are 5 ways and reasons to promote your blog offline.

  1. Come up with a locals list, then sponsor a picnic, coffee break meeting or some other fun, low key, low cost, no commitment needed, drop by and meet humans event for all your local online contacts. A surprising amount of people will show up. They will likely bring other people with them too. Your online connections already like and “know” you. This is just an opportunity to deepen those relationships and build new ones. A prize drawing for a Doc Martin bobble head doll never hurts to boost attendance.While getting acquainted with people ask about what else they do online and then offer to follow their blog or online business. Make the most out of the event by linking up with smart phones in hand. Above all have a good time.
  2. Look into promotional advertising products. Promotional gifts for businesses have been around for a long time and with good reason. These are items that can carry your logo and message to the grocery store on a shopping bag or around the office on a coffee mug for years. These days there are some amazingly innovative promotional items like the trolley token key chains in the UK that take your logo or message and spread it far and wide. The cost of promotional items can be very small compared to the longevity and advertising value of the items. Even more importantly, unlike online marketing, promotional marketing is not time intensive. This makes it an excellent advertising medium for bloggers.
  3. Search out “captive audiences” and then teach them. The heart of blogging is sharing a passion or an expertise with others. Taking that expertise to a captive live audience is one of the best offline marketing tactics. What is a captive audience? An audience that already meets with a group of people on a regular basis anyway. For example, PTA meetings at local schools meet on a regular basis. Lets assume you have a blog about parenting. Ask to give a 5-minute talk at the beginning of the meeting. Something like: “10 Useful Tips to Communicate with Your Teen.” Captive audiences exist in clubs, groups and all sorts of local places and they can present an excellent marketing opportunity.
  4. Look into local public radio and TV advertising. Non-profit blogs can usually advertise for a nominal cost or for free through PBS stations. Small businesses and large businesses also pay different advertising rates. Simply working the phones as volunteers wearing promotional T-shirts can bring an online blog exposure. In addition, philanthropic donations to local institutions such as museums, hospitals, sports teams and community organizations can almost immediately establish brand clout and recognition. Moreover, donations are usually tax deductible and they present fabulous opportunities for online press releases before and after the event.
  5. Collaborate with a local brick and mortar business and sponsor an event. For example, a fishing blog could partner with a local fishing store and give away free bait and donuts one morning. Both the store and the blog can increase their business and bring value to their customers.

Get creative with offline advertising and have fun. Online and offline communities start and end with people!

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Author’s Bio: Jen Thames writes about marketing and business at SixSigmaOnline. You can find her on Twitter as @SixSigmaAveta

Thank you, Jen! You’re irresistible! 🙂

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Influence: How to Attract Maximum Support for Your Business Idea

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IRRESISTIBLE BUSINESS: Network Building

Ask Everybody

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I had THAT conversation again. You might be surprised how often it happens. It’s basically the same conversation with entrepreneurs, small businesses, and career professionals who have a new idea they want to present to their corporate team. The conversation goes something like this one.

I ask someone what he or she is working on.
I hear about a new product, service, or idea that has that someone truly interested, invested. and intrigued by possibilities.
I ask few questions and get some answers such as:

  • Why are you the best person / team / business to make it real?
  • Who do you know needs this idea?
  • What core group of people will find your idea absolutely irresistible?

Whenever I have this conversation, it’s rare that people answering these questions offer much detail. They seem to know far more of the intricacies and inner workings of their brain child than they do about the people who will actually use it.

That’s not good.

If you’re going to solve a problem, the better you know the people who have that problem the more likely you are to be able to attract those people to you.

Influence: How to Attract Maximum Support for Your Business Idea

Attraction is the power of evoking interest or drawing something to another. Mere exposure can build familiarity, but it takes some compelling similarity — something that reaffirms ourselves and our values — to build a true and lasting attraction.

Start with your existing network. Don’t ignore the people who love you to chase the people who are ignoring you. Find your first support in your existing network. Look at the people right next to you, they’re the people you have already attracted.

To build the deepest influence build out your business idea, product, or service by starting with start with what has attracted other people to you on the deepest levels — your core competencies and values — to what you want to see happen — your business idea, product or service.

Use the first question to qualify your business idea.

Why are you the best person / team / business to make it real?

  • Know your value. Who are you with respect to your business idea? What competencies, skills, and talents qualify you?
  • Know what attracts you. What about this idea attracts you emotionally? Just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean you SHOULD.
  • Be invested. Why would you choose this idea over all others as where you invest your time?
  • Identify your unique attractiveness. What unique value and values will you bring to making it real?

Use the second question to qualify your core community.

Who do you know needs this idea?

  • Know who already values your competencies, skills, and talents. Who in that group will be most interested in what you’re doing? Who knows others who would be interested? How does your idea solve an important problem for them? How will you get their best thinking?
  • Know what attracts them. What about this idea will attract them emotionally? How seamlessly does it fit what they’re already doing?
  • Be worth investing in. What unique value and values will they see? How much time / money / resources are you asking? What’s their payoff for participating — what makes their work / life easier, faster, more meaningful?
  • Identify their unique attractiveness. Who in your network will increase the attractiveness of your idea by participating? How will you identify them?

Use the third question to combine the first two and refine them into an irresistible offer.

What core group of people will find your idea absolutely irresistible?

  • Name and claim your core group. Maximum support stand on deep relationships. 12 apostles can do more than 1200 subscribers. Who are the 20% who will give you the 80% of your support always? Who will spend the most time / money / resources on this idea? Focus there. Build your first offer to show you know them deeply.
  • Raise the value in your value proposition. What does your core community love most about your idea? How can you enhance that, refine that, and deliver it more seamlessly?
  • Lower or remove the irrelevant details. What does your community not care about or find irritating? How can you limit that, lower that, or remove it completely?
  • Be uniquely satisfying. What would delight and surprise your core community? How can you introduce something only you might add to the idea that would uniquely satisfy the community because you know them so intimately?

Keep the community in the process. Constantly talk to people about what you’re thinking and seeing. Ask them if they’re having the same experience. Whenever community members offer valuable insight, think of ways to bring them closer to what you’re doing. Encourage your fans to ask their friends what you’re wondering. Tell them how you’d like people to think of you and ask if that’s what they’re saying about you. Solicit their suggestions, insights, and corrections.

None of us can be inside and outside a system at the same time. As you stay inside the thinking on your idea, product, or service, find ways to share what you’re doing. Invite your influence network or community bring you news of what they’re seeing. That outside point of view will raise their investment and prove your assumptions.

The closer you get to your community, the closer they’ll be to you.

And that’s irresistible.

Be irresistible.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

How to Distinguish Yourself and Business Market

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Build Brand Equity Now

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Doing well in business is all about distinguishing yourself from your competitors. The virtual world provides multiple avenues for you to accomplish this. Meticulous planning, effective implementation and use of creativity can do the trick for you. As the virtual medium does not call for large investments from your end, even small organizations get an opportunity to build brand equity.

Perseverance and the attention to detail in your marketing campaign can get you the desired results. Work towards your goal with a plan. Here are the factors that you need to incorporate into your strategy.

1. Establish an emotional connect with the consumer

For a brand to stand out among a plethora of products available in the market, it is important for consumers to relate to a brand in a manner that it emerges as their preferred choice. Build a campaign people can relate to, something that instantly makes people identify with the story narrative. Connect with people to attract buyers initially and to ensure customer loyalty later on.

2. Win the trust of consumers

Trust plays an important role in the purchase decisions of consumers. People are willing to pay more for a brand they have had a good experience with and avoid brands that do not get good customer reviews despite a lower price of products. Attend to the issues faced by consumers to avoid putting off potential buyers. A disgruntled buyer can cost you in terms of loss of revenue. Make online reputation management a priority while attending to people’s grievances.

3. Give customer service a priority

A good customer service is a major differentiating factor in the world of business today. Consumers seek instant resolution to the problems they face. If not immediately, it is important that organizations attend to customers’ grievances within a specified time frame. Build urgency around your customer service initiatives and make it a priority.

4. Involve people in your marketing campaign

Use contests, discount coupons or an intriguing feedback taking methodology to involve people in every stage of product development and product launch. Give attention to feedback collection and assess the results to understand the areas for improvement in products and services.

5. Unleash your creativity in your marketing efforts

Creativity is the backbone of any marketing initiative. Use different social networking platforms to reach out to your target consumer segment. Work towards making your campaign go viral over the web. Use blogs and social networks to attract traffic to your website for more information on products. Work towards conversion through an e-commerce platform.

Businesses thrive and even command a premium on their products if consumers see value in the products. For consumers, quality reigns supreme. Aspirational value and a connection with the brand come in next. Use all the means possible to project your product as the one that does well on the parameters of quality. Work towards creating an emotional connection between the consumers and the brand to effectively separate your brand from the clutter of multiple brands and products available in the market.

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Author’s Bio:
Brianne Walter writes about eco friendly buildings and green technology at ecofriend.com . Recently, she wrote an article on Nokia 701 specifications. You can find her on Twitter as @.Brianne

Thank you, Brianne!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

How Three Tips from a Babysitter Helped me Establish a Successful SEO Agency

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We learn some of the best lessons in our lifetime when we are young. Not only that, but most of the times life throws invaluable lessons at us when we are least expecting. But surprisingly, some of those lessons stay with us and keep helping for a long time to come. The reason for the childhood lessons being more effective as compared to those we have in the later stages of our lives, is probably the willingness to listen and to learn from others as compared to how flexible we are, once we grow old.

Coming back to our topic, the tips I was talking about actually came from a babysitter who did pretty well in landing herself job after job as a caretaker, always getting calls and referrals from parents who were looking for a nanny. These tips were meant for someone else who was looking for some babysitting jobs (and getting none), but somehow, these tips got stuck in my mind, and years later, when I founded a small SEO agency, I ended up using these tips to boost my clientele.

Let me share those simple yet very effective tips with you guys …

Tip # 1:

Getting your first clients is going to be the most difficult part, mainly because you don’t have the experience or confidence to help you. If that’s the case, you should try doing some short babysitting gigs for free. Even better, you should assist or go along with an experienced nanny or babysitter in your neighborhood to get some experience. And that’s what I did when I first started my SEO agency. Before I started my own business, I had actually worked as an SEO expert in a well-known company, but I couldn’t share that work for some reasons (was bound by some sort of a NDA), and it was practically impossible to grab some projects without having anything to boast in my portfolio. So I acted upon the advice and accepted some projects for free (or dirt cheap prices). Needless to say, it didn’t took me long in convincing those clients to start giving me work at normal rates, not only that, but I was able to generate an impressive portfolio without wasting any time.

Tip # 2:

Ask the parents for whom you have babysat to refer you to their friends, if not, ask them to write a couple of lines and use it in your broachers (of course after getting their consent). In online world, these are known as testimonials. The point is, when you have done your best and the client is happy with your work; don’t just stop at getting the payment and departing. Tell them that you are looking for more work, and ask them to refer your services to their contacts. In my case, one of the most consistent sources of orders so far has been the customers referred by my clients.

Tip # 3:

Lastly, make sure that you are putting your best foot forward, regardless of the compensation you will be getting for the job. Remember that both in babysitting, as well as Internet Marketing, your client’s needs are usually of recurring nature, and satisfying one client means that you’ve booked them for a long time to come. Every time they are looking for someone to take care of their child or website, you will be the first person that comes to their mind. And so, probably the best way to market your business is to perform in a way that causes your clients to have a high opinion of you.

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Natasha is an SEO and Internet Marketing expert. Apart from an SEO agency, she runs a discounts website where you will find coupon codes for sittercity promo coupon (find it here) and care.com code (get it). Teenagers looking for babysitting jobs can use these discounts to join sittercity or care.com and find babysitting jobs.