Archive for the ‘How To’ Category

First of all what's a Power Team?

Basically 8 – 12 complementary businesses who work together to create a complete interrelated marketing system.

For example in the wedding industry a Power Team could consist of a photographer, a wedding dress designer, a cake shop, a travel agent specialising in honeymoons, a marriage celebrant, a wedding planner, a limousine hire company, a florist and a reception centre.

 The result is synergy on steroids. What is synergy? The definition I like the best is "synergy is when one plus one equals three". In other words, when a team produces more than the sum of each individual's efforts could produce if they worked on their own. So what happens with the POWER of 8 - 12 Business owners?

The members of a Power Team operate three distinct but interrelated marketing systems.
   

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For those of you drowning in a sea of Vxxxx, Russian Brides and unexpected inheritances this strategy really does work.  The Networking World Cool Tools Geek recently helped a client set it up on their email accounts and reduced SPAM from hundreds a day to practically none.

You can learn how to do it here..

Stop SPAM with G Mail and keep your business email address.

This week's cool tool is actually a collection.
If you have an online business and you aren't using these tools or something that does the same job then you need to look at them.  These really are essential tools to manage your online business..
We use 5 of the 8 at Networking World and there is NO WAY I would operate without them.  And after reading this article I will be looking very hard at two others. I know.. That's only 7.  Instead of Mail Chimp I use E-Nudge which is a fabulous, home grown Australian brand (If you are looking for an email mailing system make sure you check it out!) 

Here's a summary and a link to the complete list..

*    Email list management and marketing
*    Customer Relationship Management
*    Payment processing 
*    Ordering process and downloadable files
*    Subscriber visibility, demographics, location and social profiles 
*    Online surveys 
*    Landing Pages  
*    And web analytics 
 
http://socialmouths.com/blog/2010/07/20/8-power-tools-to-turn-your-blog-into-a-profit-center/

Lots of you have said you want more help being productive, getting things done and managing your time.

So I thought in Today’s Cool Tools I would share the tools I use consistently to help manage my time. (And a bit about how I do it)

I admit it I am a To Do list junkie. I have even been known to write something on a list AFTER I have done it just so I can have the satisfaction of crossing it off again.  (No I’m not recommending you do that)

I use two completely free tools to manage my time:

Remember the Milk www.rememberthemilk.com and HourGuard http://www.nchsoftware.com/timesheet/index.html
and here’s how I do it..

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Five Ways that Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs can make a difference

Today’s blog post was inspired by an important point that Les Price from Enspirited made on a webinar a couple of weeks ago.
What Les said is “One of the Seven Hidden Determinants of Highly Successful Entrepreneurs is That they have a cause far greater than themselves”.

He mentioned Bill Gates, (almost $3 billion in charitable donations) Warren Buffett ($2 billion) and Pierre Omidyar. ($92 million)

And there are a couple of really compelling business reasons why you should make the effort..
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15 Traditional Networking Tips for Successful Social Media Networking

 I was reading a great BLOG Post in Social Media Examiner earlier in the week that talked about What You Need to Know About Outsourcing Social Media.   It got me thinking just how similar traditional networking and social media are and how many of the same rules apply.

After all you wouldn’t send someone else to a networking breakfast on your behalf.  But by the same token you wouldn't spend hours at a networking event chatting about what you had for breakfast. There is a heap to be learned about SMART social media networking from the world of traditional networking..

 So in no particular order here are 15 tips for SMART social media networking taken directly from what’s important for successful traditional off line networking. 

 This is in no way intended to be an exhaustive list.  Just some ideas to get you thinking about the way you approach social media networking.  I am sure you will be able to add many more..

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Your Eight Point Checklist to a Better BLOG

 My Blog has been an embarrassment for a while now so with the help of Tania Smith of BrandYouTwitFace I have bitten the bullet and got a brand new BLOG.

 My first step was to find out what a good blog should look like.

 I found an awesome video from one of the top Blogging Experts on the Internet Denise Wakeman from the Blog Squad.   You’ll find the link to Denise’s video at the bottom of this post.

 Denise talks about a Seven Point Checklist so Tania and I worked on those and then I added one more of my own.  In this article I work through each of the eight points  PLUS  Discuss what Tania and I did to make sure this blog measures up. 

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