May's Big Challenge

It's almost May and have I gotten myself into something big. 


I registered for the "100 articles in 100 days" challenge on ezinearticles.com. Beginning May 1, I am committed to writing more than 100 articles (400 words or longer) and posting them on ezinearticles.com. 


It sounded like a good idea. Now, though, every fear has popped in my mind. Fears like, who wants to read my articles? and what if I don't have anything to say? That is why I am sharing this challenge with the world, so I can't back out. 


One hundred articles is a lot of writing. Is there anything you want to read about? Any topic you would like to see me cover?


I'll be posting links to my articles here and on my social networking sites. If you don't follow me already, please do so. I'd love your feedback and support.


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Would you be missed?

Would you? If you closed up shop today and went back to a "normal" 9-to-5 job, would your clients miss you? Would they even know you left? Would potential clients be upset they lost their chance to work with you?

Stop a minute and think about the impact you have on your clients and the industry you serve. Are you presenting yourself as a leader in your field, full of great ideas and providing valuable resources to everyone who comes your way? Are you making a difference in the lives of the people you meet, either online or in person?

Sure, the goal of every business is to make money- we have bills to pay after all, but what if our goal was to make a difference in the lives of every person we meet, no matter if they are clients or not? What if we made such strong connections with those we "talk" to that they would miss us if we were gone?

Shouldn't that be our ultimate goal?

How to write a SWOT analysis

Some people have a hard time admitting things they just aren't good at. For others, they can't see all of the wonderful skills they have. And no one wants to face the challenges and forces against them and their business.

That is why a SWOT analysis is so vital to any plan you develop for your business, especially marketing and public relations plans. As an entrepreneur, knowing where you excel and where you need support is essential to the success of your business.

So, what is a SWOT analysis?

Strengths (internal)

What are your strengths? What attributes do you offer your business that make it stand apart from other businesses? These are the things you need to focus on and spend most of your time doing.

Examples: sales presentations, networking, writing

Weaknesses (internal)

What are your weaknesses? Include tasks or skills you just don't like doing. Be honest here. If you aren't great at something, list it as a weakness so you are at least aware of things that could be harmful to your success. These are tasks or skills you should avoid doing, or find someone to handle these for you, if possible.

Examples: public speaking, cold calling, face-to-face sales pitches, graphic design, accounting/bookkeeping, social media

Opportunities (external)

These are outside forces that support your business or are helpful in achieving your success.

Examples: few competitors in market, increase in demand in market, recent legislation or funding in your business area

Threats (external)

Outside forces that endanger your business.

Examples: current economic situation (which could be an opportunity for some industries), competition, narrow niche market

A SWOT analysis provides a strategic look into forces that directly impact your business. Being aware of your position allows you to take action against that that hurt your business while focusing on your strengths and opportunities.

Growth of Social Media

Here is part of an article posted on Social Media Examiner. Click here to read the entire article. It is full of great information on the growth of social media.

A recent study, “The State of Small Business Report,” sponsored by Network Solutions, LLC and the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, points to economic struggles as the catalyst for social media’s rapid popularity.

The study results show that social media usage by small business owners increased from 12 percent to 24 percent in just the last year, and almost 1 out of 5 actively uses social media as part of his or her marketing strategy.

Here’s a breakdown of what the small businesses reported as the main uses of social media marketing:

• 75% have a company page on a social networking site
• 69% post status updates or articles of interest on social media sites
• 57% build a network through a site such as LinkedIn
• 54% monitor feedback about the business
• 39% maintain a blog
• 26% tweet about areas of expertise
• 16% use Twitter as a service channel

According to the study, different industries are adopting social media marketing at different rates, and while many industries have started using social media marketing in their efforts to reach more customers, many still have not positioned it as their top priority.

According to the survey, “Professional services firms, real estate businesses and entertainment/food/ lodging businesses rely more on email marketing than other types of small businesses.  Firms in the education/health/social services sector rely more on social media marketing and direct mail.  Not surprisingly, retailers depend more on print and broadcast advertising.”

The report also measured small businesses’ expectations of social media. While 58 percent feel that social media “met expectations,” 12 percent feel it has “exceeded expectations,” while 25 percent feel social media has “fallen short of expectations.”

Some of the reasons given for social media’s shortfalls were:

• 50% feel it has used up more time than expected
• 19% believe social media has lost them money
• 17% feel social media has allowed people to criticize their business

So, how has social media worked for your business? What is the most exciting part? What is the most frustrating part? How many hours a week are you spending on social media sites? How much success have you had integrating social media into your traditional marketing strategy? How do you determine success in social media?

Characters Wanted

Other than hockey, I don't watch a whole lot of television, but I do enjoy good action dramas that are smart, clever and entertaining. One of my favorite channels is USA Network. They have such great programs, like Burn Notice, In Plain Sight, Psych, Royal Pain, White Collar and Monk. Plus, they air tons of NCIS reruns. 


A couple of things stand out about all of the shows listed above: the tone of the show and the strong characters. They are all smart shows. They don't talk down to their audience. On Psych, they poke fun of "The Mentalist" for stealing the premise of their show and always include a pineapple in the background during each show. They don't take themselves to seriously. The main characters are good people trying to do good things in their own way. Each new show follows the same formula but it never seems stale or recycled. The network knows exactly who their viewers are and what they want. And they deliver.


I ran across an article with the network president. See if you can take away any tidbits of advice to use for your own business.

Today when considering scripts, Hammer and her team ask a routinized series of questions: 

Does the show have a fun sensibility? Does it have a "blue sky" tone of hopefulness? Does it revolve around an "aspirational," if quirky, lead character with a moral and ethical center? 

Potential shows are scored based on how closely they match these dictates; only high scorers make it on air. Before Hammer's arrival, USA was the television equivalent of a potluck supper, a hodgepodge of reruns and castoffs. 

Driven by her unique show-selection technique—a process she refers to as the "brand filter"—USA has been transformed into a cohesive collection of character-driven shows that are resonating with viewers, and advertisers are in hot pursuit. 

"The goal was to take a large, broad-based network and make it an exclusive club by creating connective tissue," Hammer says, describing the bond between characters on the screen and an audience of individual characters watching at home. 

The USA tag line describes its strategy: "Characters Welcome."

So, what is your "brand filter"? If your business has a tagline, does it accurately describe your business strategy? Do you offer a potluck supper of services? Do you have a series of questions, or filters, you can run potential clients, projects or services through to keep you on track? If you were a television network president, what "shows" in your business would you cancel?

Absolutely Free (and Cool) Social Media Tools

The best thing about social media is it's free, except for the time spent online trying to figure it all out.

Here are some of the best free tools you should be utilizing to manage your time and efforts in the ever expanding social media realm.

1. Social Oomph: Schedule tweets, track keywords, set auto replies and auto follow/unfollows, send DMs to new followers, vet new followers, view @mentions and retweets, and much more.

2. Hootsuite: Hootsuite is one of my favorite tools. You can manage multiple Twitter profiles, along with  your Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Foursquare accounts, pre-schedule tweets and measure activities.

3. Tweetmeme: Tweetmeme finds the hottest stories for you to retweet. You can also add a tweetmeme app to your blog posts, making it easier for readers to promote your blog.

4. Alltop: Alltop is like an online magazine rack. They collect headlines of the latestest stories from tbe best sites and blogs that cover a topic. I use the site for links to articles that might be interesting for my Twitter followers. I've also discovered some great blog topics from the headlines.

5. Social Mention: Social Mention is a social media search engine that searches user-generated content such as blogs, comments, bookmarks, events, news, videos and more.

6. BoardTracker: BoardTracker is the leading search engine for message boards and forums and provides innovative search, analysis and social networking technology to bring people closer to the boards

7. Digg: Digg is a social news website that can help you share blog posts and web pages. It is a great tool for promoting your own web pages, blog posts and online articles.

8. Delicious: Delicious is a social bookmarking web service for storing, sharing, and discovering web bookmarks. It is another way to promote your favorite sites.

9. Google Buzz: Google Buzz is a social networking and messaging tool from Google. Users can share links, photos, videos, status messages and comments organized in "conversations" and visible in the user's inbox.

Just remember, you don't have to utilize all of these tools at once. Try one tool a week and see what works best for you. Some of these sites may just be the key to your social media success.

Have anything you want to share? Please do.

Thinking BIG

I think I've mentioned Michael Port on this blog before. He is the author of a great book called "Book Yourself Solid," a must read for entrepreneurs, coaches and consultants.  His business story, which he lives and dies by, is "I'm the guy to call when you're tired of thinking small." Perfect.

Michael recently published "The Think Big Manifesto." He is determined to start a revolution, and I, for one, am all in. I want to share with you "The Code" that Michael lists in his book. You'll have to buy it yourself for the rest of the invaluable and inspirational message. Seriously, you want this book.

The Code, from "The Think Big Manifesto" by Michael Port.
0. Stand for Something (or Something Will Stand on You)
1. Overthrow the Judge (The Fraud Factor)
1. Collaborate (Trust Everyone. Almost)
2. Get Comfortable with Discomfort (If the Shoe Pinches, It Fits)
3. Promise and Fulfill (Say You Will...and Do)
5. Submit to Authority to Be an Authority (Listen More, Talk Less)
8. Live in Integrity (Does It Need to Be Said?)
13. Work--Hard (Being Warriors)
21. Have Fun (Yes, It's Okay)
34. Revolution Time (Stop Waiting for Godot)

What BIG thinks are you up to today? How is your business going to revolutionize the world? Are you taking baby steps or wide leaps of faith? What one think scares the devil out of you? What are you avoiding? Why? How would you feel if you could just make the jump into the unknown? Free. Alive. Scared. Invigorated. Isn't it time you found out?

Public relations for entrepreneurs

Contrary to what my mom believes, public relations is not serving food at the neighborhood bar or working retail at the mall.

Public relations is managed communications between an organization and it's publics.

Let's break this down.

Managed: You control the message and format of the content released. The message is consistent with your business story and presents your business in a positive, proactive, authentic and truthful light.

Communications: There are numerous forms of communication, from press released, brochures, websites, advertising and sales letters to speeches, social media, events and everything in between. Anything that can be used to connect with someone else can be considered a form of communication.

Publics: Repeat after me- there is no such thing as the general public. You are not trying to reach the whole world. You're publics are those groups that you need to reach; those clusters of likeminded people who you are trying to influence. It could be potential clients, customers, media, elected officials, school teachers, union groups or any other target group. Your publics will be different from your markets, which will be different from your audiences in advertising.

To develop a public relations plan for your business, you first need to identify your publics, then determine what you want them to do and finally decide which communication vehicles are the most appropriate to deliver that message. For example,

Public: elected officials
Objective: Vote in support of legislation that protects clean air in Tennessee
Communication: federal report on the dangers of dirty air; face-to-face meeting to discuss current legislation; letter from three well-respected scientist that backs up our stance; organized phone-in day where dozens of people call their legislators to ask for their support.

This is a very simple beginnings of a public relations plan. I challenge you to take your top two or three publics and create a plan of strategic communications for each group. You'll be amazed at the results.

Speed bumps: Deterrents or Launching Pads

Have you ever been driving along and come across a speed bump, but were unable to slow down enough to take the bump at a proper speed? Your car launches in the air slightly, kind of like the General Lee from the Dukes of Hazard, lands hard then continues along like it never happened. The last few weeks have felt like a series of speed bumps for me and my business. As a fellow entrepreneur, I'm sure you can relate.

I've been blessed with many great opportunities and am working with some amazing clients and coaches.  But there are times when I wonder what the heck I've gotten myself into. Thankfully I spent weeks in the beginning developing an integrated marketing plan for my business. During times when I just don't know what to do next, I follow my roadmap and keep plugging along until things pick up and I am speeding along, pedal to the medal. and speed bump free.

Speed bumps are installed to slow people down and act as a deterrent to speeders. For entrepreneurs, a speed bump can be a launching pad into the next realm of business, but only if there is a strong plan in place to act as wings.