Hope you enjoy my latest article.  Comment away your tips!

Social Networking Changed Everything – The New Marketing & PR Model

It’s pretty obvious that the marketing of today has changed.  You have newspapers going virtual/web only, Twitter and Facebook replacing postcards and phone calls, and potential clients now being the main target of your press releases as opposed to editors.  It’s all changing and to do PR today, you need to change with it.  The good news is that it’s never been easier. The bad news, you need to learn a new way to do things. Fortunately, there are tips that can make it easier and I’m here to show you a few.   

First, no one can deny the power of social networking.  And those that do are just plain wrong. I’ve been in business since 1985 and I liken this to way back when emails became a way of life.  Many still contended they wanted to do it the old fashioned way and nothing would beat a letter. (I know it’s hard to even imagine this today.) It wasn’t long until they realized their error, but by then their competition was way ahead of them. Don’t make the same mistake now.  You absolutely need to get with it and get on board. I can practically guarantee you within weeks you’ll be hooked and wondering why you ever hesitated. It’s so easy, and the potential so great, you need to start today.

Let’s break it down.  Twitter first.  Forget all the “I don’t care what they ate for lunch excuses,” that’s where your competition and peers are and you do need to be there too. Sure you do have a few tweeters who will update you on the latest hot dog they ate, but that’s rare.  What you do have is more and more businesses networking and connecting with each other in ways never thought possible.  It’s also more than just networking back and forth, you can have chats, host events, get more publicity for your articles and press releases & even announce your seminars and radio shows.  And that’s not even the half of it.  There are entire books written on this, so my first recommendation is to get them.  Why struggle and find your way around when you can easily read the tips from those who know exactly what you need to succeed.

Also, while you are getting your feet wet, don’t jump in and start posting and selling and ranting and raving.  Take it slow.  Sign up, take a sit, remain quiet for a short time and read what others are posting.  Follow the leaders in your industry and take advantage of their knowledge.  It can almost feel like walking around with them all day and looking over their shoulders for their secrets.  What’s cool is they give their tips freely, why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of that? As an example, if someone were looking for information on starting a virtual assistant business or getting publicity for their business, they could follow me at Twitter.com/dianaennen

Now the key many forget is that not only do you need to follow them, you need to listen earnestly to what they are saying.  Go to the sites they recommend.  Actually do the things they suggest.  And most importantly, if you have the opportunity to contribute and honestly have something of importance to say, do!  Even if they aren’t following you, once you list their twitter name @name, it will go to them.  Best yet, you might get a retreat or even better a RT and follow back.  As many say, those are the ultimate compliments.

Now it’s important to learn the social media  lingo – Hashtags, Retweets, Fans, Follow Friday, this is just a few of the many names you need to know to do business better.  It can be overwhelming.  No, in fact it is overwhelming.  However, if you keep it simple and take it a step at a time, you can do it.  When you see a term you don’t know, look it up right then.  Write down your interpretation and do the investigating to find out more about it.  Here are just a few to help you on your journey.

What’s a retweet?   That’s when you find somone’s information useful and you want to pass it onto your followers.  So basically RT (retweet) is good content that you pass on.  Many RT just to RT.  Don’t be one of them.  You know your followers and what they want and need, that’s what you should be RT’ing.  We highly recommend signing up for TweetDeck for ease in doing this.  A click of a button and you are there.

Next you need to know about Follow Friday.  This is definitely one of my favorites. Think of Follow Friday as your day networking at a business get-together, only better. You get to stay in the comfort of your own home, and you get to immediately make the connections, not when you get home with a handful of business cards.  Try and plan your week so you can participate.  Remember this can be even more effective than a Chamber meeting or an expensive business seminar.  So plan a lighter load on Friday whenever possible.  You want people to mention you so mention them.  Also, don’t just list 20 screens of twitter names that you want people to follow.  Tell your followers why they should follow them.  What do they offer that your followers would be interested in?  Remember to put #followfriday in your posting.  (By the way, see that # in followfriday.  That’s what is called a hashtag.  Cool huh!)  And finally, you want people to retweet your followfriday postings, so keep your count to 120 instead of 140 so they can easily do this.  In fact, do this for all tips or postings you wanted retweeted.

Finally, try and post on Friday mornings.  I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ll often go down my postings to find those I want to list.  I know I want to list them before hand so it’s not that I’m just going down my friends column, but often times I don’t have their information readily available.  By posting on Friday you are giving it to them.

Finally, sign up for Trilalerts for your keywords.  Start following those of interest.  For example, I’m a virtual assistant, so I’ve signed up for virtual assistant updates.  Now I can follow other virtual assistants easily.  I do the same for Publicity, etc. Who do you want to connect with?  That’s who you sign up for. Follow the media.  Sign up for Facebook and Twitter for the newspapers and TV stations in your area.  Look for business reporters who tweak and follow them.  Learn their style and what they are looking for in their articles. 

Also, follow some of the owners of the many article and press release directories who tweet.  Some of the best are on there and giving away secrets to success left and right. 

Facebook is pretty self explanatory.  The key here is to spend some time to expand your network.  Fortunately you get notices when someone responds to your posts, so try and go and follow-up as soon as you can.  However, be careful that you don’t get sidetracked doing this too often. Build relationships.  You can have thousands of friends and fans, but can you honestly connect to all of them.  I know I sure can’t. Twitter also now allows your tweets to be sent to your Facebook page too.  This is definitely a plus.  Just make sure that you don’t do this to all of your postings, only the ones you feel would interest your friends on Facebook.

Article Submissions, Press Release Submissions -  I also say you need to send out articles and press releases religiously.  Many question how some succeed with this and others don’t.  What’s the difference? The main thing is that they know what to do. They realize the difference that page ranking can make and don’t waste their time on sites that don’t get results.  They sign up for Google Alerts under their keywords and then check out the sites that frequently get spidered.  Then they send to those places and add those sites to their database.  We do have a fabulous  PR informational package that is free to anyone who emails us.

Marketing a business and social networking doesn’t have to be expensive if you just remember to network and use all the tools available to you.  In fact, it can be fun as you get to meet new people and develop new ways to sell you and your business.  Also, keep in mind if you don’t want to do it yourself, there are excellent qualified pros and virtual assistants available to assist.  You don’t need to do it all.  You just need to do it!

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Diana Ennen, specializes in publicity and marketing and is the President of Virtual Word Publishing, http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com and author of numerous books. Ready to jumpstart your PR campaign, then email her at Diana@virtualwordpublishing.com.  Free PR Informational Package available. Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/dianaennen . Article is free to be reprinted as long as bio remains.

Hi

Thought you’d enjoy mine and Kelly’s new article on starting and staying in business.  Would love your comments!

Top 10 Tips for Entrepreneurs to Start and Stay in Business

Starting a new business is such an exciting time in life. You’ve got an idea for a product or service that you know will be a success. All you’ve to do is make it happen. Follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way to entrepreneurship.

1.  Find your passion in life - Do some soul searching and make sure that the business you are about to begin is your true passion in life. Why venture into doing something “just because” – make it something you love to do.

2 .  Research, research, research - Take the time to do your homework. Find out all that you can about your new business, starting a business, and what kind of competition is out there. Don’t rush in to anything. Your business will only succeed if you are filling a need or a void in the marketplace.

3.  Develop a solid business plan - Whether or not you need financing for your business, you still need a business plan. Many people dread this process because they make it out to be a very daunting task. Daunting or not, it’s crucial to your success. A business plan, at minimum, should be an outline of your goals and objectives for the business – attainable and reasonable goals – both strategic and financial. It can be one page, it can be twenty pages – just be sure to do it. Putting the plans that are constantly floating around in your head down on paper will make you accountable. Visit your plan often and make the necessary changes to ensure your success.

4. Develop a solid marketing plan - The marketing plan is an essential part of your business planning. You need to research your competition, analyze your strengths and weaknesses, and identify the risks, opportunities and threats posed by both internal and external factors. In doing so you can easily determine a niche market, the best way to enter the market, and how to best turn your marketing efforts into revenue.

5. Create your USP - Your USP is your Unique Selling Proposition. This is what makes you stand out from the competition. Why should people buy your product or service over the competition? Do you offer the best price? Do you have a superior product? Do you offer the best customer service? Your niche coupled with your USP and a good marketing plan can quickly position you at the forefront of the marketplace – you’ll blow the competition away.

6. Establish your external support system - Starting a business on your own can be overwhelming. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance when and where you need it. Draw on the resources closest to you such as family and friends. The Internet offers a number of opportunities to establish a system of peers including social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, etc., teleseminars, message boards, and discussion groups. Check out the various online and offline networking groups and associations. Chances are you have a local SBA office, Small Business Development Center, or SCORE office in your area that can be a great source of resources for starting and growing your business.

7. Communicate with your internal support system - Without the support of those closest to you – kids, spouses, moms, dads, significant others – it can be difficult to dedicate the necessary time and resources to developing your business. By communicating your plans, goals and objectives with your internal support system you better your chances of gaining their support and getting them behind your new venture. Keep the communication lines open so that they understand what you’re going through and let them know how they can best be of help to you.

8. Give it time - Rome wasn’t built in a day, nor will your business turn a profit in a day. It takes time to build a successful business. If the phone doesn’t ring today, it will tomorrow. The key is to be ready for when it does ring. Have all the proper systems in place; be prepared to spend a little money to make some money. If one marketing technique isn’t working, try another one until you achieve the results you desire.

9. Take it serious - If you want others to take your business seriously you have to take it serious yourself. You have to give it your all and apply yourself at all times. A successful business can’t be something that you just play around with or consider it a hobby – even the IRS won’t take you seriously.

10. Reward yourself - Be sure to reward yourself for all your successes no matter how big or how small. Sooner or later all of your efforts will begin to pay off. Be proud of yourself and do a little something special just for you – you deserve it!

Kelly Poelker and Diana Ennen are successful virtual assistants and co-authors of numerous books including Virtual Assistant: the Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After Virtual Assistant and accompanying Virtual Assistant the Series Workbook,  Stop by http://www.vatheseries.com for information on starting a VA business or contact authors at authors@vatheseries.com if you need a virtual assistant. Follow us on Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/DianaEnnen and http://www.twitter.com/KellyPoelkerArticle is free to be reprinted as long as bio remains.

Hi

This is one of my all-time favorite articles that I wrote.  Whenever I get down I read it.  Whenever I get up I read it.  It just helps me remember that success is mine .. I just need to go after it.  Hope you enjoy it!

Expect Success in Your Home-Based Business

That’s right!  Don’t sit back and hope that clients will come your way and that this business might work for you. Expect it!  Go in with a winning attitude.  An attitude that no matter what obstacles come your way, no matter what challenges arise, you will meet them. Not only will you meet them, you will face them and grow in strength by overcoming, and rising above them. Expect Success!

Let’s look at where you are in your business.  Some of you are seasoned work-at-home moms with thriving practices, while others have just entered into the arena.  You want what those pros have. Well — don’t just want it—expect it. Make this your motto. Start each new project, or each new marketing venture, with this new attitude, and with this new motto—Expect Success.  Before long, it becomes second nature to you. You start automatically assuming the outcome will be successful. 

Now, in starting a business there are some steps you have to take. You’ll find the first one is the big one. It’s the Attitude Step. You need to make the transformation from “employee” or “stay-at-home mom” to successful entrepreneur.  The mind-set changes right from there. Expect Success!

Next we’re on to some of the business basics. A successful entrepreneur professionally chooses the name that best suits their business. To do this, they visualize that name on their business cards, on their signature line, on the bottom of the letter, with the name President directly right above it.  Expect Success! Now, more motivated than ever, our successful entrepreneur needs to choose that all important domain name and get ideas for a website.  They research the net for days, weeks, writing down all the fine qualities they see in other web sites.  Never copying! Merely researching, constantly thinking of ways to be different and unique makes it work. How they can combine their own strengths and skills to fit into their business, which will then be listed on THEIR WEB SITE. They read.  They write. They Dream! 

At this point they start seeing that “Yes, it will happen.”  In their research they have found the organizations, associations and list-serves that the other entrepreneurs in their field are active on. They have seen the common denominators of those that are successful.  They too get involved.  They look for additional training courses, if needed, and sign up for the ones they know will help them meet their goals. They develop their marketing plan and design their promotional materials. They read everything they can on starting a business.  They have a plan and they EXPECT SUCCESS!! They now see that the future of their business is just within their reach. They share with others their excitement, and then they wait for the time they can finally say, “I’m ready!” EXPECT SUCCESS, and it can be yours.

————– 
Diana Ennen, Author; president of Virtual Word Publishing, www.virtualwordpublishing.com,

Have you been over to the new HBWM boards.  They are utterly amazing.  So young & hip & exciting.  Plus, lots and lots of opportunities for us HBWM.  Great job Lesley!

So how has your HBWM business been going lately?  Did you feel a crunch when the economy took a hit.  I know in my business of PR and publicity I did see a major change.  You just couldn’t get the same results as you used to, because people weren’t parting with their hard-earned money like they had in the past.  I had to market harder to get the same results.  But fortunately I did discover that the more I marketed the more PR I was able to go.  So I feel it’s important to remember not to give up, but to keep going full-steam ahead.

What are your business success tips?  We’d love to share them here.

Diana Ennen

Virtual Word Publishing / www.virtualwordpublishing.com

One of the things I’m trying to do this year is to work better, smarter and with more purpose.  I realized last year that often times I could spend an entire day working, and have nothing to show for it.  Not good. 

Here are the steps I’m taking to get back my business and time.

1)  Write everything down.  Jot down during the day exactly what you are doing.  Mine was very informal.  I just got my daytimer and wrote down things as I worked on them.  When completed, I wrote what I did next.  What freedom that brought.  I was able to see where my weaknesses were and what needed changed.  Also, I realized just how much wasted time there was.  Today I feel more empowered. 

2)  Delegate- I have fabulous virtual assistants who can help me with my business, but too often I take the reins back and want to do it all myself.  Big mistake.  Yes, I can send out those articles, etc., but my time should be spent with the heavy duty stuff, like writing, communicating with clients, coming up with new marketing, securing new clients, ideas, etc.

3)  Organize — Our family has gone on a major organizational journey since after the holidays.  Every weekend we spend hours and hours in addition to our regular clean-up time organizing closets, the garage, rooms, etc.  Wow, what a difference.  I feel in control again.

What are you doing to get your business back?  I’d love to hear it.

Thanks!

Diana Ennen, Virtual Word Publishing, www.virtualwordpublishing.com

Now that the election is over, it’s a great time to get my business, VirtualWordPublishing in the news and out there.   As a publicist, I’m recommending this to all my clients too.  I believe not only the press, but also EVERYONE is eager to hear something besides the election.  Not that this wasn’t a very important topic, but now it’s time to go on.

Here’s what I’m doing:

1) Wrote a new press release and started submitting it out.  I also have a holiday article that I publish every year.  I just change it so that it’s all new content.  But I have the same basic format, just new tips.

2)  Sponsored a contest with Jill Hart of CWAHM.com.  It’s the Great Online Networking Extravaganza.  We were able to write a release on that and got additional press too.  Plus, the event featured spectacular interviews with experts so I was able to talk with some real leaders and did some major networking.

3)  Continued to submit to reporters looking for experts.   This is so recommended and since there are excellent ones out there, I encourage everyone to do this.  My latest will be an mention in Parade Magazine next week.

4)  Connected with clients and potential clients.  Through my newsletter and emails. 

5)  Ordered my holiday cards.

That’s what I’m doing.  How about you? How are you jumpstarting your marketing after the election?

Thanks!

Diana Ennen, Virtual Word Publishing, www.virtualwordpublishing.com

Ready to jumpstart your marketing in time for the holidays.  Here’s some tips you might find beneficial:

Ø      Read and research new things.  So many great promotions are going on now with the holidays and New Year coming.  Look to them and see what’s out there and how you can apply it to your business.  Host a holiday contest or get your product or services in others.

Ø      Join Associations:  Join the association that you’ve heard about by so many but haven’t made the commitment yet.  Start the New Year with a firm commitment to attend at least one engagement a month or more.  See what a difference it can make in your business by talking with pros in your industry or networking with businesses, who might utilize your services or products.

Ø       Your Website.   Take a look at your website and see if it is the best that it can be.  Look to the overall appearance, the professionalism of your wording, the explanations explaining the benefits you provide, etc.  In fact, everything in your site needs to convince a client to work with you.  Now ask yourself, does it do that?  Is this something I can be proud of?  Too often we throw together a website, just to have it done.  Remember this can often be a client’s first impression of you.  Is it selling you well?  Also, with the holidays approaching, add a little holiday spirit.  If you sell products, set up some terrific promotions.  People are looking for bargains today so make sure your site offers them!

  Hope you enjoy these tips.  Love to hear yours.

Diana Ennen, Virtual Word Publishing, www.virtualwordpublishing.com

This week I had the privilege of reviewing a fabulous book “Celebrating Green” by fellow HBWM member Lynn Colwell and her daughter, Corel Colwell-Lipson and to take part in their blog tour.  What an honor. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

I can remember when I first heard of “Green Halloween.”  This was way before their book — and what inspired it I believe.  Immediately I thought, what a spectacular idea.  As a mom to three, my thoughts turned instantly to the bags of candy we accumulate each year as well as the houseful of decorations, etc.  It’s amazing when you think about it, just how much there is. 

I eagerly awaited the release of the book when I heard they were writing it. And I wasn’t disappointed.  In the book I found it all and so much more. With Halloween a few weeks away, I can’t wait to share with my family my newfound knowledge.

To be honest, like so many, I always try to do good.  I want to set an example for my children. I know it needs to be done.  I just didn’t know how. I was also intimated with all the talk by many experts.  It seemed over my head and impossible.  So probably like many, I just did what I could and hoped it was enough. Not anymore!

I believe with holidays, so many think too all bets are off.  It’s our right to have fun.  Well as their book points out, that doesn’t have to be the case.  You can do this year round and especially on the holidays.  The good news is, they show you how. 

So with that … my review:

I love the simplicity of it.  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  The three R’s I can do that!

The 25% rule.  Try and cut down on holidays just 25% to start.  I can do that!

Instead of throwing things out, redo it.  Remake things.  I can do that.  In fact, looking at my closet, look how many things I can do with that one simple tip.  (And the book is full of these tips.)

The whole book not only tells you what to do, but how to do it easily.  Steps that make sense. 

There are fabulous recipes in there and ideas that make every holiday special. 

It’s packed full of websites and places you can go to accomplish your mission, that alone is priceless.  When you can easily find where to get things, it makes it easier to do and so many more will do it.

Perhaps the best part of the book though is the personality you feel throughout.  It tells a story from the first page and leaves you eager to learn more.  You relate so well to the authors.

Oh wait, that’s not the best part … the best part is in today’s economy, saving money is important.  In fact it’s critical.  The principles in the book when applied not only allow you to “go green” (had to say that just once!), but save money.  And they are all practical.  Your family won’t even feel it.

I recommend this book to everyone.  This is the gift to give this year.  This is the book to read with your daughters and sons.  This is the book that’s get smeared when you try those recipes, just like your favorite cookbook.  This is the book to tell others about and share the magic of just how easy it can be. 

They did a splendid job!!  Congratulations!!

Diana Ennen

Virtual Word Publishing

www.virtualwordpublishing.com