Successful Blog

How to make your own rules

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Rosemary O’Neill

Why you must ignore the food police AND the social media police

Eggs, coffee, wine, chocolate. This is just the short list of items that have been forbidden by the food police and then discovered to have benefits (thank heavens).

Automation, daily posting, subscriber popups, list posts. Social media gurus will jerk you around too.

The bottom line is that any prescriptive formula is not going to work for everyone.

I’m freeing you from the police.

When I was in the final weeks of my pregnancy with twins, my doctor prescribed a pint of premium brand ice cream nightly. (Let that sink in.)

What the heck?

Turns out that a pint of Haagen Dasz contains protein and calcium, as well as a big chunk of the calories that unborn twins consume. So while the “food police” would tell you NEVER to do that, I’m convinced that my preemie babies had fewer problems at birth because of ice cream.

Tweetable: When it comes to social media, do what’s right for your own business goals, not anyone else’s.

How to make your own rules

Write before you read – First thing in the morning, review your mission/goals, then do some content creation free of other people’s musings.

Look at your own data – Google Analytics can be intimidating, but it’s worth learning how to use it. As a free tool, it offers crazy good insights into how your website and your social content is resonating.

Pay attention to who has your ear – It makes a great headline to say, “8:00AM is the best time of day to Tweet,” or “Why you should NEVER post on weekends.” But is that advice right for you specifically? What if your audience is working moms, and you catch them with free time to read on the weekend?

Gurus are people too – Remember that the so-called experts are writing from their own perspective, based on their own experiences, which may not match yours. Also, they can be wrong.

Take a moment today to ask yourself why you are doing things a certain way. If it doesn’t move you toward your business goals, kick it to the curb!

Is there any social media advice you’re following blindly right now?

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

Thank you, Rosemary!

You’re irresistible!

ME “Liz” Strauss

Why Freelancers Need to Invest on Getting Themselves a Proper Office and Furniture

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Some time ago, when I quit my job to embark upon a freelancing career as a web content writer, I thought, all I needed was a laptop with internet connection. Having that I can sit around anywhere in my home and proceed to work. It didn’t take me long to realize that I was quite off beam. What actually happened … my productivity dropped to less than half of what I was able to do at a 9 to 5 job. I couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t organize the tasks, couldn’t maintain the work-life balance, and the decision of leaving the job started to look horrendously wrong.

Thankfully, it didn’t take me long to figure out that this sudden decline in my efficiency is due to the change in environment, and I went straight for getting myself a dedicated room, office furniture, and a PC, thankfully it has been a pretty smooth ride from then till now.

Let’s see why you must invest on a proper office and the right furniture if you are looking to work as a freelancer.

The Frame of Mind:

You wouldn’t be able to focus on your work while working in casual surroundings, especially if you have got some family members roaming around. Remember that your mind is not accustomed to focus on work while at home, you will manage to pull off a couple of tasks every now and then, but it will be an uphill battle to concentrate on work day in and day out, like you’d do in an office. It is all about the environment, your working environment plays an important role in your overall efficiency and productivity, that’s precisely the reason why companies spend large sums on providing you with the best office supplies, and furniture available in the market. Without a dedicated room and work furniture, you will find it hard to get in to the right mental state for work.

The Distractions:

If you are sitting and trying to work from a living room with laidback settings, the temptation to put your laptop on side and pick up the remote control for a quick look at what’s playing on TV might be a little too hard to resist. Similarly, if you are sitting on a cozy couch or bed, you will feel like lying down and having a nap because you have got all the time to complete the work. This will lead to procrastination that can be disastrous for a freelancer. This is why it is so important to have the basic furniture like workstation and chair, which is made specifically for work and not for rest, not to mention the sprains that you can get from sitting and working in awkward positions with a laptop.

The Visitors and Video Conferencing:

More and more online employers are starting to ask for video conferencing for conducting an interview. In case you are required to be a part of a video conference, sitting in your pajamas on a dining table with a kitchen sink in your background is not the kind of image that they’ll appreciate. Your employer will be looking for some professionalism in your dressing, the surroundings, and of course the furniture, showing that you are serious about your work.

Not only that, but you might need to hire some assistants in near future (I had to employ one in only the second month to carry out the dirty work) and you will need a separate office and furniture for that, even if you have to rent a small office. Freelancing is often confused as something you must do from your home, which is not really correct. For me, freelancing should be the first step towards having your own small business. And the sooner you can get yourself an office and the right furniture, the better.

Get More Respect:

It might sound weird for some, but working from your home is not a very socially acclaimed type of job, especially in developing countries. Even your family will find it hard to give you the space and the atmosphere required for work. Having a separate office and the furniture can be the answer for both of these problems. First it will depict that some “serious” work is going on and you shouldn’t be disturbed, and second it will boast that you have got a real job with real earnings.

Author’s Bio:
Rahil is a contributing writer for Erik Organic Chairs, that offers custom made organic furniture for your home and office, made by genuine hardwood.

SOBCon NW Announces Addition of Local Speakers with National Reach

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SOBCon Northwest is coming to Portland in September for its second year. The three-day conference scheduled for September 28th – 30th has just announced two additional speakers from Portland, who are getting national attention. The conference agenda is ALREADY packed with amazing speakers, check-out the full schedule for all the details.

Marry Me Maybe?

Similar to the ‘Call Me Maybe’ pop song sensation this summer, Gina Morris helped to produce a YouTube sensation. With now over TWENTY-FIVE MILLION views (and counting), ‘Isaac’s Live Lip-Dub Proposal’ can officially wear the title of VIRAL VIDEO. She’ll be at SOBCon NW for a one-on-one interview about the inspiration behind the video and how it feels to be in the national spotlight.

Gina is the owner of Radish Underground, an indie fashion boutique in Portland. She’s a self-proclaimed entrepreneur with experience in public relations, event planning and visual merchandising, and also teaches workshops and classes.

Fifty Shades of Heathman?

SOBCon NW is also thrilled to present an interview with  Chris Erickson, General Manager of the Heathman Hotel. The Heathman has recently become a media darling due to a mention in popular fiction novel ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’. The notably erotic tale of kinky trysts, many of which are set at the Heathman, has skyrocketed up the charts and fans are ALREADY flocking to the Heathman’s Facebook page.

Chris was also recently featured on Fox Business discussing new ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ hotel packages and the bars new signature cocktail, ‘Fifty Shades of Gin’. He claims that not only has the book boosted buzz but has also increased revenue. He’ll be on hand for the Portland SOBCon NW event and perhaps will even be able to give attendees the scoop on the movie!

Exclusive Networking Event (and Free Professional Headshots)

Also added to the docket is an exclusive networking event scheduled for September 28th from 7pm – 10pm at The Heathman, sponsored by Vitamin T.  Currently only open to conference attendees and speakers, this promises to be THE networking event of the season.  AND, as a special gift, SOBCon and Vitamin T will are offering free professional headshot photographs to all who attend.  Stay tuned for more details on the nights festivities.

About SOBCon

SOBCon NW runs from September 28th -30th and is one of the best learning forums for startups, small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs in the US. This is the conferences second year in Portland, and will be taking place in the heart of the city, at the Urban Studio in the popular Pearl District.

The theme this year is Starting Up Strategically, and the 2 1/2 day event will include:

  • 6 highly interactive and innovative Mastermind Models that will address the key elements to startup success
  • 2 interviews with startup & small business influencers
  • 2 panel discussions with the entrepreneurs and investors that are leading the way
  • “Give Back Sunday”, where we help non-profits with our know-how and insights
  • Full breakfast and lunch on Friday and Saturday, full breakfast on Sunday

Attendance will be limited to 100, so sign up early to reserve your seat.

About the post author, Lisa Peyton

Lisa Peyton is a leader in the field of digital marketing. Based in Portland, OR, she serves as executive editor at ThoroughlyModernMarketing.com and FacebookAdvanced.com. Her services include social media coaching, content strategy and digital marketing consulting.

 

Why Conventions and Conferences Are Worth It: Top Events Left in 2012

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Amanda DiSilvestro

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Why Conventions and Conferences Are Worth Your Time

One of the most important things you can do for your business is continue to be informed -— learn the strategies of the top industry leaders, keep up on the latest news, and do what you can to understand how Google works and how you can improve your company website. Knowing what is buzzing in your industry, the Internet landscape, and the overall economy will help ensure that you’re prepared for anything. One key way to make sure that you are present and informed about your industry is to attend quality seminars, conferences, and conventions.

Unfortunately, many companies are still not taking advantage of all that these meetings have to offer. Attending conferences takes time, energy, and money. Business owners are typically so busy that they barely have time to go home and be with their families let alone attend a conference, so it simply doesn’t get done. However, most business owners who do attend one to two conferences per year find them to be extremely valuable for a few reasons:

  • You make great connections.
  • Speakers usually give advice from experience, so you can learn from others’ mistakes.
  • Conferences often discuss strategies and tactics that are new to most.
  • Typical question and answer sessions allow you to make the experience personal.
  • Customers and clients love to hear that you’ve been to a conference with some of the top industry leaders. It proves to them that you are just as authoritative as those popular names, and it proves that you have the same information at your disposal as they do.

The important thing about attending conventions is making sure you attend the right conventions. Try to go to a convention or seminar that has a good reputation and has been going on for a few years. There are conventions that occur in all different parts of the U.S., so chances are you will not feel as though you need to travel to attend.

Top 5 SEO and Social Media Conventions Left in 2012

Some of the most popular conventions occurring in 2012 revolve around SEO and social media. These lessons can transfer over into every industry and work for any company with a company website. Fortunately, there are still a few left in 2012:

1. Event: SES Chicago; Date: Nov 12-16; Location: Chicago, IL

This is by far one of the most popular and talked-about SEO events of the year, and it’s coming up quickly! A great variety of industry leaders will be speaking at the event, and there are so many different seminars that occur that you can really pick and choose what you need to learn about the most. People come from all over the world to go to one of the many SES conventions, and Chicago is the last one in the U.S. this year. Prices differ based how many different presentations and/or workshops you want to attend (you can also get a discounted price if you sign up early!).

2. Event: Search Marketing Expo (SMX); Date: Oct 1-4; Location: New York City

This convention has workshops including International Search Summit, aimClear Facebook Marketing Intensive, Advanced Adwords Training, and Bruce Clay SEO training. Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land is the co-chair of the event, so you know you’re getting top information and a personalized experience. If you sign up before August 31 you can earn Early Bird specials, which will save you an average of $150. The price will depend upon whether you’re looking to attend the entire weekend or just one day, so you can click here for more details.

3. Event: Pubcon; Date: Oct 15-18; Location: Las Vegas, NV<.h4>

This is another one of the most famous seminars for small businesses because it offers very specific information about technology and how you can use technology to your advantage. Many attend this event only to attend what is called an “interactive site review,” which is where you can talk with several industry leaders about your website specifically. This isn’t something many conventions of this size offer, so it’s a huge benefit. If this doesn’t interest you, Matt Cutts of Google will be speaking, so have your questions ready! There is a huge range of prices, so visit the Pubcon website to decide which itinerary is right for you.

4. Event: Under the Radar; Date: Nov 15-16; Location: San Francisco, CA

Despite the name, this convention has been around since 2003 because it is always so successful. According to the Under the Radar website, 67% of their presenters have gone on to raise funding or be acquired by top names like Google, Yahoo, Cisco, BT, Microsoft, Twitter, Fox Interactive, and more. Naturally, hundreds attend this convention to follow in their footsteps.

5. Event: Content Marketing World; Date: Sept 4-6; Location: Columbus, OH

Many of the conventions discussed above are very broad and allow you to choose different seminars you’d like to attend. Content Marketing World, on the other hand, is very specific. This convention is all about SEO and content marketing, which is something that is becoming increasingly important for companies looking to improve their SERP ranking. Visit the website to learn more about prices and options.

**Bonus Event** SOBCon; Date: Sept 28-30; Location: Portland, OR

I know I said this was a top 5 list, but I couldn’t leave out the convention coming to you from our own Successful Blog. This seminar is full of interactive sessions and features some of the top industry leaders, including Liz Strauss. The conference is mainly focused on starting a business or re-starting your business. With so many looking to go in a new direction for the New Year, this is one of the best conventions to attend. You can sign up now by visiting the website.

I tried to find conventions that were spread out across the U.S., but there are certainly more to be found. Do you know of any great SEO or social media conventions in your area? Would you go back again? Let us know in the comments below!

Author’s Bio:
Amanda DiSilvestro gives small business and entrepreneurs SEO advice ranging from keyword density to recovering from Panda and Penguin updates. She writes for Higher Visibility, a nationally recognized SEO consulting firm that offers online marketing services to a wide range of companies across the country. Connect with Higher Visibility on Google+ and Twitter to learn more!

Big Brand Advice for Small Business from Paul Smith, Consumer Research Dir of P&G

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by Paul Smith

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One of the luxuries afforded big brands at multi-national companies is their million-dollar consumer research budgets and large teams of trained researchers.

Leaders of smaller companies and startups also recognize the importance of understanding their consumer. They just don’t always have the resources to hire swarms of research experts or commission an endless string of expensive studies. If that describes you and your company, the post below from Procter & Gamble consumer research director Paul Smith offers some big-brand sized advice, for a small-company sized budget.

Big Brand Advice for Small Business from Paul Smith, Consumer Research Dir of P&G

One of the pitfalls of consumer research is that people aren’t always able to accurately portray what goes on in their own lives, or even explain their own behavior. As a result, researchers often use multiple ways to get at the same piece of information so they can triangulate on the truth. The story below is often told at research conferences as an example.

A breakfast food maker wanted to understand if and how moms were providing healthy breakfasts for their families. So they sent a survey to a dozen women asking about their morning routine. The general consensus was that their families were enjoying healthy meals in the morning. The company then followed up with each woman asking if they could come to their homes one morning to observe.

Arriving at the first home at 6:30am, company personnel find mom is downstairs already, dad is in the shower, and the kids are still asleep. True to her word, mom is in the kitchen preparing a healthy breakfast for her family. She then turns her attention to getting the kids up and dressed. The little one needs help brushing her teeth, and the bigger one needs help choosing clothes that match. As each child is finally ready for breakfast, mom releases them to the kitchen and turns to the next child and task. After the last one is ready, it’s mom’s turn to ready herself for the day.

As a result, most of the actual eating happens in an unsupervised rotation—except, of course, for the company observers. They see everything. They see children pick at their “healthy” breakfast before feeding the lion’s share to the family dog. They see dad race out of the house, grabbing only a cup of coffee and the muffin that was easy to throw in his briefcase. Mom, who’s late herself at this point, covers her dish with plastic and explains that she’ll eat hers at the office. The team leaves the house along with the family, thanks them for their help, and makes arrangements to follow up with a few questions later in the week.

During that follow up phone call, the company observers described to mom what they saw: the kids eating only half their breakfast, dad taking only coffee and a muffin, and her packing her meal to go. That wasn’t exactly what she said happened in the initial survey. Was mom surprised? “No, not really. The school has a breakfast program, and sometimes the kids eat there. And John was running late, otherwise he would have eaten at home. And I’m normally more on top of things myself. I never did eat what I packed, by the way. My eggs were cold and runny by the time I got to work.”

“How often,” they ask, “does that happen to at least one of you? In other words, how often is somebody leaving home without eating the healthy meal you’ve prepared?”

Mom thinks about the question for a moment, and then sheepishly admits that most days at least one of them is too busy or distracted to eat their breakfast. In fact, it’s rare that all four of them eat the full breakfast she’s prepared.

One Story, Two Deep Lessons

Our memories are often constructed after the fact to cause the least distress to our sensibilities and concept of who we are. That’s the first lesson in this story. The three-part technique described above is designed to uncover the true behavior and the reasons behind it.

  • First, ask the consumer what she does.
  • Second, observe what she does.
  • Third, discuss with her the difference between the two.

In this case, the breakfast food makers learned there was a real need for healthy breakfast food that appealed to kids’ taste, was already prepared, and was portable enough to be eaten in the car or at work. The plethora of on-the-go breakfast bars and drinks on the market today are a result of this kind of research.

But there’s a second lesson to learn here. Sometimes a single story can teach you more than a whole semester at business school. In this case it was about consumer research techniques. But it could have been about anything. Imagine how much less effective the lesson would have been if delivered textbook style instead of via a story. You probably wouldn’t have even gotten this far reading it.

Experience has always been the best teacher. But a good story is a close second. All other forms of communication leaders use at work—like email, policy memos, and PowerPoint slides—are a distant third. Master the art of storytelling, and you’ll be a far more effective leader no matter what line of work you’re in.

Author’s Bio:
Paul Smith writes about leadership and storytelling at Lead With a Story. He is the author of Lead with a Story: A Guide to Crafting Business Narratives that Captivate, Convince, and Inspire. You can find him on Twitter as @LeadWithAStory.

What to Know Before You Meet to Negotiate A Strategic Partnership

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Strategic Partnership Series

What Is a Strategic Partnership?

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When two business parties agree to build something they can build better together than they can build alone, you have a strategic partnership. The advantage of strategic partnerships is that partners can do more with fewer resources. Knowing ahead of time that you’re building the same basic product together means that some parts of it will serve both parties and won’t have be built twice.

Let’s say you are in Fashion and I’m in Fitness. We both have a core audience of recently graduated college students. We might decide to take the place where our Venn Diagram overlaps — Fitness Fashion — to offer a clothing line through your distribution and mine.

That shared “We” on the diagram points to the areas where we can lower costs and increase resources by working in partnership. With two teams working one clothing line or one fashion-fitness event, we’ll enjoy:

  • the ability to split costs and spread the work
  • a wider resource of experience and fresh ideas from another industry
  • a better chance to focus on what we’re good at — if you’re good at staging events and I’m great at marketing, we can specialize and give our best to the team.

A strategic partnership can be formed between any two parties who can align their goals to work together for mutual benefit. How to Identify the Highest Potential Strategic Partnerships tells what I’ve learned about how to identify the right partners. For the strongest partnerships, look for partners who share your values and philosophy of business but have different strengths and skill sets.

Don’t overlook partnerships with the folks in other departments, with your vendors, with potential customers and sponsors. Anyone whose goals align with yours can be a strategic partner. Small partnerships offer the same advantages a big ones and are sometimes easier to manage.

Once you’ve decided a strategic partnership is a good idea.
Do a little preparation before you try to negotiate one.

What Is Negotiation?

Let’s be clear on the question, What is negotiation?. The goal I set for initial strategic partnership meetings is a viable answer:

Negotiation is two parties to agree to a workable and positive outcome.

When you first meet with a potential strategic partner, you should know how you can help each other, but they may not even know you. Even if you do know the folks you’re meeting with, the idea of a partnership may be alien to their usual way of doing business. That means a discussion — a meeting. Few folks have longer than about an hour or so. That’s not much time for negotiating first impressions, new ideas, deals and relationships.

On my trip to London, I had to introduce myself and our business. I needed to make business deals and wanted to establish long-term business relationships. Most importantly, I hoped to start an international network — a collaborative effort — publishers working together to build our businesses in a way that no one publisher could have achieved alone.

What to Know Before You Negotiate Any Strategic Partnership

The best first impression and the best first meeting reflect and demonstrate how you the strategic partnership will work. If you want an open, honest, equal partnership based on mutual growth, structure a meeting that offers the best possibility of that outcome.

Strategic partnerships are relationships not transactions. A first meeting is more than just selling or “going fishing.” Relationships are established by building solid foundations.

Have a Goal, Have a Vision, and Articulate the Fit

  • Set a Realistic First Steps Goal. Great relationships take place in stages. A test case of a process establishes whether the communication has been effective. The first steps goal should be small, set in time, and easily measured.

    Time was tight. Urgency was high. The first goal was to identify, license, and bring back existing products that we could version and get to market quickly.

    In the example of fashion and fitness, it might be that I might ask you to put some of your fitness fashion in my fitness centers for distribution.

  • Have a Vision for the Relationship. Great partnerships collaborate to grow both businesses over a longer term. It’s important to know what the next stage will be.

    When I went to London, the ideal partnership would be with companies from whom we would first buy, and then collaboratively partner on products in the areas where we served similar customers (in non-competitive venues).

    In the fashion-fitness example, the future might be that we collaborate on an exclusive fashion line that is only offered in my fitness centers.

  • Articulate Why the Partnership Is a Good Fit. No partner wants to get the impression that you’re working with them by accident. It’s important to articulate why it’s them not just anyone. It’s important that potential partners in business (as in romance) know that we’re making an informed and conscious decision.

    On my London trip, I could point to products that fit the values of my audiences and how easily I could promote them with over 900,000 color catalogues to my market.

    In the fashion-fitness example, I might point to how our customer groups were the same people, how our companies shared the same values, and how well our skill sets complimented each others’ skill sets.

Preparation was a foundation to solid success of those 8 or 9 days of meetings and the resulting strategic partnerships. Having a goal, having a vision for the relationship and being able to articulate why this partner and not just anyone made it easier to keep the tables even when I walked in the door to discuss strategic partnerships with that would grow both of our businesses.

It started a chain of irresistible events.

Be irresistible.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

Watch for more on negotiating strategic partnerships.