I came across a great post by Jim Connolly this morning describing how he added a new income stream to his business and avoided time wasters in the process.  What he said struck a nerve in me, and I feel what he said is too good not to share.

I would recommend reading the above linked article before continuing on, but if not, here is what I have to say about it.

First off, my hat’s off to Jim on how he’s handling this situation.  When people would contact him with a question that required a detailed and time consuming answer, he would send them a link to his new service page where he offers his paid services in increments as low as 90 minutes.  This quickly weeds out those who are truly interested in his services from those who are just looking for free help.

If you are working in a service orientated industry, such as marketing or web design, then you no doubt have been approached by people who just want to “pick your brain” on a certain topic.  I know I have.  Jim Connolly’s response to these types of inquiries is:

In my experience, 95% of those people are time wasters: Freebie seekers, who will suck up your time, knowing they have zero intention of paying you (or anyone) for professional help.

I am in total agreement with Jim on that, while I can also concede that a small percentage of these “brain picking” requests come from people who may not realize the exact nature of their request.

The whole “can I pick your brain” scenario is a blight on many professions.  The freebie seekers recognize the value in what the professional does or know, but at the same time they don’t want to compensate the professional for the benefits they can provide to them.

How has this new approach worked for Jim Connolly?  It sounds like it’s worked out great.  He has attracted many new clients who find his offering of mini-sessions at a lower cost a great fit to their business.  This kind of service model can be copied to many other business types as well.

For example, I do receive quite a few requests from people who want my help or advice in relation to their website or for SEO.  I’m appreciative for all these requests, but like in Jim Connolly’s case, many of these requests come from people who have no intention of paying for this help.

In the past I have been pretty forthcoming with this help, but have been horrible at setting boundaries at where this free help ends and where the paid services start.  In fact, if I were to add up the hours and hours I’ve spent helping clients improve their business without receiving any compensation, the number would probably dumbfound me.

And I have no one to blame for this but myself.  Had I set boundaries in the beginning I wouldn’t have been moved as much by Jim Connolly’s post today.

A method I’ve used lately when responding to emails requesting my advice is to offer some feedback to their problem and say that I would be happy to help them out if they choose to hire me.  Adding the word “hire” in my response has resulted in never getting a response back, but hey, it would appear that I did weed out someone who didn’t value my time or expertise.

In retrospect, I would say that a response like that is too passive, and doesn’t keep the door open to future business with the potential client.  This is why I really like Jim’s approach with his mini-session option.

And because I like Jim’s approach so much, it will be something I implement on this site soon.  It’s a great way to filter out time-wasters, while also increasing my base of prospective clients.

Thank you Jim for the wonderful tip!

photo credit

No related posts.

If you were to make a list of reasons why you should be blogging, what would that list consist of?  Some great reasons such as cheap marketing and customer interaction should obviously be mentioned, but what do you think the #1 reason would be?

Put simply, the main reason why you should be blogging is to project yourself as a knowledgeable individual in your field.

Makes sense, doesn’t it?  If you are continually publishing content that other people find valuable, it won’t be long before you have a strong positive reputation in your chosen field.  Building a strong professional (or even personal) brand should be the #1 reason behind your business blogging.

Professional Branding Through Blogging

Your professional brand speaks volumes about you, your character, and your business.  For most people, building a great brand takes a lot of time and a lot of effort.  It’s not something that happens as quickly as we would wish.

This is where business blogging comes in.  A good blog is something that can take on the role of a PR manager, a marketing agent, and a publicist.  With the power and flexibility that blogging provides, you can increase the speed of branding yourself in ways you otherwise couldn’t.

Why Blogging Builds Your Brand

Blogging can be one of the best tools in your toolbox for promoting yourself to others.  Your blog works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in promoting your skills and knowledge to an audience far wider than what you can probably accomplish face-to-face.  It works while you work, and it works while you sleep.

Your blog is a hard worker, but it can only work with what you give it.  That’s why it’s important to follow some general guidelines to business blogging if you want to achieve the goal of projecting a strong image to others.

Tips For A Better Business Blog

1. Professional design – Any business blog should have a design that reflects who you are and what you do.  It doesn’t need to be anything overly fancy, but it should be personalized to suit your needs.  You wouldn’t use a sports themed design if you were a financial advisor, would you?
2. About page – This is an important and often overlooked area of anyone’s blog.  People who are interested in your services, or who want to know more about the person behind the blog, are probably going to be looking for an “About” page.  Don’t leave this out, and don’t leave it lacking.  Describe your experience, your history, and don’t feel timid about linking to examples of your work.
3. Contact info – You have to give people a way of reaching you, whether this is through a contact form, a phone number, address, or all of the above.  Make this information easy to find so visitors don’t have to hunt for it.  A blog page containing your name, phone number and contact form is a great start.
4. Great content – This is the most important piece of the puzzle.  A blog by nature is a platform to publish content, and the content you do publish matters when it comes to branding yourself as an expert.  You can’t take the easy route in this area, you have to frequently publish content that showcases your talent, training and abilities.  And don’t be afraid of giving away too much information in your blog either; many of the people who come to your blog looking for your valuable information will often turn into a customer or client later on.  (If you don’t believe me, just check out Chris Brogan. This guys gives out a vast amount  of free information on his blog and still has a ton of people wanting to pay him for more.)

Your Turn

What is your primary goal through business blogging?  Is it to market yourself to a wider audience, gain leads, or something else entirely?  I’d love to hear your thoughts about this in the comments below.

photo credit

No related posts.

Yesterday I noticed a sticker on the front of my newspaper.  It was an advertisement for a local bank that announced some “$3,000,000 savings spectacular”.  Not much else was mentioned in this advertisement, but a small QR code was inserted at the bottom.

I have an Android phone with the QR Droid app installed, so out of curiosity I scanned the bank’s QR code to see what it contained.  Turns out it was a link to their website with information on their promotion.

This got me thinking a little more on QR codes in general, and if they’re really an effective method of marketing.  For a long time I’ve held the opinion that QR codes are overrated because for them to be useful 3 things need to happen:

1. The user needs to know what a QR code is
2. The user needs to have certain hardware and
3. The user needs to have certain software

And those reasons create a huge hurdle for QR code integration.  You can’t expect a great return on this method if only a small portion of your audience is even aware of what a QR code is.  And if they are aware, they need the technology to process it, e.g., a smartphone.

If you were to show 10 random, everyday people an image of a QR code and ask them to identify it, what do you think the results would be?  I’m betting you would be lucky if even 1 person would be able to recognize one.  It’s safe to say that few people would even know what they’re looking at, let alone know what to do with it.

And if someone does know what a QR code is, they have to have the tools to read the code.  The most common and readily available tool for reading QR codes in today’s world is the smartphone.  Smartphones, such as the iPhone or Android phones, have just recently started outselling “dumb” phones.  QR codes can be scanned with the camera on a smartphone if the user has a certain app installed.

QR codes would most likely succeed if (and only if) the user knows what a QR code is AND has a smartphone AND has a code reading app installed.  I have no data to back this up, but I’m going to go ahead and say that this QR code savvy user mentioned makes up a very, very small percentage of the population.

Eventually QR codes could become more mainstream, and I could see them being very useful in certain situations.  For example, a real estate agent could place a QR code on a “For Sale” sign outside a home.  This code could link to an online video tour of the property and/or provide additional information on the house being sold.

But QR codes have a long way to go before they’re ready to go mainstream.  Until that day comes, I think of them more like a toy that a child loses interest in quickly because there’s something better to play with.

What do you think of marketing with QR codes?

No related posts.

This morning I decided to create and use my own personalized URL shortening service.  I have been using bit.ly for a long time, and while I find bit.ly to be a great service I wanted to try throwing links around that had my signature in them.

There are several routes I could have taken to create my own URL shortener and I went with Pretty Link because of its simplicity and features.  All I had to do to get it up and running was install the plugin and I was good to go.

I’ve only used it a few times this morning and so far it has worked great.  I’ve shared a few of them on Twitter, some people have clicked them, and I have all the click info in my WordPress admin area.  Pretty Link works just as it is supposed to.

Looking at my Twitter updates now though, I have to wonder if I’m coming across as too self-promotional.  All the links I’m sharing on Twitter all start off with “http://robmcguire.net” and if people aren’t aware that I’m using my own URL shortener I can see how it would appear that I’m just blasting links to my website.

I think that this could become a problem for people who just start out using their own personalized URL shortener.  Until people become aware that not all the links you share point to your site I think you take the chance of appearing a little spammy.

I know a few people who also use their own URL shrinkers and I haven’t asked their take on this yet.  But I will go ahead and ask you: Have you ever found custom URL shorteners to be too pompous or self-promotional?

No related posts.

This video is true in every way possible.  If you own or operate a business then this is for you.  And this is especially true for freelance web designers/developers.  Enjoy!

Mobile version

All credit for this video goes to Scofield Editorial

No related posts.

I’m going to come right out and say that I hate how so many of these “social media experts” spout off about how nowadays you have to integrate yourself into the social web, that you and your business will be relegated to the halls of obscurity if you fail to do so.  I spend a lot of time online, perhaps even too much, and I see these kinds of statements being thrown around all too frequently.

Most of the time I take statements like this from these social media types as nothing more than a sales pitch to get people or businesses interested in hiring them to create a facebook page for them.  But under the surface of many of the cliché statements being thrown around there is some truth to be found.

Case in point is Melina Tomson. Melina is a local real estate broker who is owner of the Tomson Burnham firm.  On top of owning her business, she has expanded her presence with a website and a blog.  Blogs are social by nature, and The Real Estate Jumble has done a fine job of creating a mini community all of its own.

Beyond her website and blog, Melina has also joined several social networks including Facebook and Twitter.  She can be seen on these networks interacting with people, both on a personal and professional level.  My memory sometimes fails me, but I also think she was one of the first local people I talked to on Twitter.

Melina Tomson is someone who “gets” it.  She knows what social media is and how to use it the right way.  I say this for the following reasons based on actions I have observed:

• Some businesses treat Twitter as an outlet solely for advertising.   Melina doesn’t.  Scan through her timeline of Twitter updates and you’ll see a real person having real conversations with others.  The subject sometimes drifts to topics related to real estate, but that’s to be expected (and encouraged).
• She has a blog that complements her business well.  A corporate website is something every business should have, but a business blog allows the owner to interact with customers (or potential customers) in a way that is not possible with a static website.
• She has integrated herself into many different circles in an unobtrusive way.  This has expanded her presence in far greater ways than a local ad could ever do.

I could also go on about how I think she’s doing a fantastic job with her blogging and the methods she’s using there, but that’s a subject for another day.

I’m not in the market for a house right now, but I know that when I am Melina Tomson will probably be the realtor that comes to my mind when the need arises.  That is because in my mind I now associate Melina with real estate and it is all because of her excellence in how she’s managed her online social identities.

Melina is doing things right.  She has put herself “out there” without putting anyone off, which is something many businesses haven’t been able to do.  Without question, I would recommend her as a prime example for other small businesses on how to leverage social media to improve their business.

No related posts.

To get a competitive edge in this world it can really help to have a solid educational background. It is no coincidence that the people who are most successful in their fields also have an extraordinary amount of knowledge and insight in their respective areas of expertise.  Anyone wishing to become a savvy internet guru should quickly add the following sites to their RSS reader if they haven’t already.

Blogging

Problogger

Without question, Problogger should be the first blog you visit to learn everything about effective blogging. Darren Rowse has been publishing blogging gold for several years now, and has helped countless others succeed with their blogs. A virtual wealth of information can be found here, and no topic related to blogging has been left uncovered. A recent post on 7 questions to ask on your blog to encourage more reader engagement is a good example of the finer techniques that bloggers should learn and incorporate into their own blogs.

Daily Blog Tips

It is always good to balance your intake of knowledge through multiple sources, and Daily Blog Tips is an excellent source for just that.  Daniel Scocco covers everything about blogging, from the basics of blogging for beginners all the way to more advanced topics such as design and monetization.  Be sure to check out the top 5 blogging misconceptions to get a taste of what you’ll find at this gold mine of blogging information.  The longer you dive into this site, the smarter you’ll become.

Copywriting

Copyblogger

Great blogging and great writing go hand in hand, and one of the best places to get a handle on writing brilliant copy is at Copyblogger.  A cornucopia of some of the best minds on the internet contribute their time and wisdom to this blog and this has resulted into becoming one of the most visited copywriting blogs on the internet.  Everything even remotely related to copy is discussed on this blog, and the amount of information freely given here is overwhelming.  With gems like this, this blog is not one you can afford to miss!

Angie’s Copywriting

Angie’s Copywriting is a hidden treasure trove of information on copywriting with a specific angle on the business side of it.  Angie Haggstrom is a successful copywriter with a track record of satisfied clients.  On her blog (as well as on others) you’ll find her dishing out platters of wisdom that are yours for the taking.  Besides her focus on the business side of copywriting, you’ll notice that she doesn’t just offer bite-sized pieces of information, she gives you the whole plate.

Marketing

Jim’s Marketing Blog

Jim Connolly has produced one of the best marketing blogs through the use of clear and structured writing that is chock full of some of the best marketing advice you can find.  At his site you can find detailed information on marketing tips that work as well as techniques that don’t.  Jim freely offers his expertise on a variety of topics, from how to boost your profits to successful blog marketing and much, much more.  You can get a rock solid foundation in marketing by bookmarking and visiting this site.

KnowThis.com

KnowThis.com is a virtual encyclopedia of marketing and marketing concepts.  Anyone wanting to expand their knowledge of the principles of marketing would do well from becoming a frequent visitor to this site.  Everything from the pure basics of marketing all the way to more advanced and detailed concepts are thoroughly covered.  If you only had the option of visiting one marketing site, then this one would be a worthy candidate and should be high on everybody’s list.

SEO

SEOmozBlog

SEOmozBlog is truly a reference guide for all things related to search engine optimization.  Even the most minute details of getting a website to rank higher in Google, Yahoo and the rest can be found within these pages.  A variety of authors contribute to the information pool, and there is plenty of input from visitors as well.  Check out a recent posting on solving crawl priority & indexation issues to get an idea of what you can expect.  This blog can easily turn anyone into a SEO wizard in a short amount of time!

SEO Book

This is probably a favorite SEO site for many people, and Aaron Wall has created quite a following with his ability to dish out valuable tips and advice relating to the search industry.  SEO Book also has multiple authors who provide lengthy discourses on how to tame those beastly search engines.  This blog alone could provide you with 100% of your USDA daily SEO requirements, as their recent posting on information pollution demonstrates, so this is one blog you can’t forget to include in your RSS reader.

Technology

TechCrunch

TechCrunch is one of the most popular sites on the internet and the frequent originator of breaking news related to the tech industry.  When you need to learn more about the latest gadget or what’s happening in Silicon Valley, this site should be your destination.  TechCrunch is frequently updated throughout the day and you’ll never be out of the tech loop by being a frequent visitor to this site.  You’ll always stay informed with TechCrunch, one of the most shared and tweeted sites online.

Technology Review

One of the titans in the tech field is MIT, and they don’t disappoint with Technology Review.  Between the site and their blogs, everything related to science and technology is touched upon.  The combination of TechCrunch and Technology Review will provide a person with an overwhelming amount of information and keep their knowledge current in all circles of technology.  Their recent posting on ocean mixing provides a good example of what to expect from this site.

Social Media

Mashable

Can you even imagine trying to gather information on social media without including Mashable?  Mashable also has numerous contributors to their site and a highly involved base of visitors.  If anything is happening in the social web you can be guaranteed that Mashable will be reporting on it.  Anything you ever wanted to know about any social or web service can be found here and this site has quickly become the haven for any and all social media experts.  Check out a recent posting on Gmail postcards to get a taste of this popular site.

Social Media Today

Social Media Today is another site that will provide you with your daily allotted requirements of social media news, tips and information.  No social media diet is complete without digging into the articles here, as their recent posting on 20 questions to start a social media discussion will attest to.  Highly readable and easily digestible, Social Media Today should be a target for anyone involved with or related to social media.  Try it and I think you’ll agree.

Photo credit:http://www.flickr.com/photos/willhale/ / CC BY 2.0

No related posts.