Got an email mailing list? Don’t do this.

Last week I got an email from a potential client, asking for a quote on a project. I replied, suggesting we set up a phone meeting to talk about some specifics. I didn’t hear back from this person, so about 4 days later I sent another quick “hello” email, again letting her know I’d love to talk further and asking when would be a good time for her to talk.

I still haven’t gotten a response, but today I received her latest email newsletter.

Strange, huh? I’ve never met this woman, nor spoken to her. I’ve never even been to her website, yet I’m on her mailing list.

Imagine that.

Do you have an email list that you use for marketing? Do you have a newsletter? If so, let me tell you that this is a perfect example of what not to do when building your email list. If you choose to manage your email list this way, you’re just asking for trouble.

Why, you ask? Spam’s why. Spam is bad. Let’s talk about permission marketing.

The CAN-SPAM law protects people from spam emails, and as responsible marketers, we should get permission from someone before we add them to our lists. It’s called “permission marketing”, and services like Aweber require double-opt-in before you can even send someone an email. Double opt-in means that when someone signs up for your newsletter, they immediately receive a confirmation email that includes a special link. They need to click that link to confirm their interest. If they don’t click the link, they don’t get on the list.

This extra step may seem like a bit of a pain, but it’s the best way to be sure that the people on your list really do want to hear from you. If you don’t follow the rules, you risk being labeled as a spammer.

I know you’re not a spammer, so don’t act like one.

As you work hard to build your mailing list, just be sure to follow the rules.

How do you get new subscribers? Let’s discuss.

Since I’m insanely busy this week, not getting much sleep, and unlikely to be able write a clever, coherent blog post, I thought I’d share this quick article on generating traffic through Twitter, written by my friend Jeff Herring (awesome article marketer and all-around great guy).

Enjoy!:)

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Traffic Building With Social Marketing – How to Create Endless Waves of Traffic With Twitter

By Jeff Herring

Traffic building and traffic generation just got a whole lot easier with the popularity of Twitter. It’s amazing to me that more folks don’t utilize Twitter to drive traffic.

Twitter is not just a place to build relationships, though I believe you should do that first. After you have built relationships, there are many strategies your can use to get traffic from Twitter.

Here are a few strategies you can use:

• Set up your Word Press Blog so that every new post on your blog is announced on Twitter. Once you set this up it will work automatically each time you have a new blog post and drive traffic back to your blog.
• And don’t stop with just the automated notice. Continue to follow up the automated notice with invitations of your own. Use a quote from your blog post on Twitter and then include the link to your blog. Ask “Have You Seen This Yet?” and provide a link to your blog. Feature one of the benefits of reading your blog post and then provide a link to your blog.
• Set up your EzineArticles.com account to “auto-tweet” an announcement of each new article you have published with a link to your article. When this article is published, an announcement will be automatically sent to my Twitter account while I do other things. This will happen for each of your articles once you have set this up.

• Then follow up the auto-tweet with your own invitations to read your article. Quote your own article and provide a link to the article. Refer to your article in answer to questions about your niche area. Refer to a benefit of reading the article and show them how to go read it.
• Did you know that you can set up your YouTube account to announce on Twitter each time you have added a new video? This is really powerful because video gets someone’s attention so much faster than anything else these days.
• After the automatic announcement, once again, follow up. This is good because people come in and out of Twitter all day long, so you wll be able to catch more people by following up at different times of day. I’ll often tweet ” I just uploaded a new video for you that answers the question…..” and then provide a link to the video.

When you implement these strategies there is just one more thing I want you to do – get ready for the flood of traffic that will be coming your way.

And now would you like more great tips like these? Then visit my blog at http://FromtheDeskofJeffHerring.com and check out my YouTube Channel at JeffonYouTube

From Jeff Herring and the SocialMarketingBluePrint.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Herring
http://EzineArticles.com/?Traffic-Building-With-Social-Marketing—How-to-Create-Endless-Waves-of-Traffic-With-Twitter&id=3327217

Though a bit reminiscent of the 1983 movie WarGames, this video is a strong reminder of how much computers dominate our world today. Take a look at some amazing facts regarding future technology, computers and the internet. It’s amazing, exciting, and a little scary too. This video is over a year old, but is still relevant and just as powerful today as it was when it was created:

In WarGames the lesson was: “the only winning move is not to play”. Sadly, if you take that attitude today, you’ll simply be left behind.

Is your marketing prepared for the future? If you’re not sure, get some web marketing help from someone you can trust. You won’t regret it.

Yesterday afternoon I was in the midst of serious overwhelm. Too many open projects, too many commitments, and not enough energy to focus. With a clear calendar for today, I expected a super-productive day. Then right before breakfast it hit – I got grumpy. Really grumpy.

Have you ever been in a funk? The kind you can’t get out of, but don’t know why you’re in to begin with? That’s the kind of funk I was in. I couldn’t figure it out, but it had hit with a vengeance.

The reality was that I was still overwhelmed.

Running a business isn’t easy. It takes enormous amounts of our time, energy, and focus. Some days hum along smoothly, and some days feel like we’re never going to dig out of the hole. If you’re running a business of any size, I’m sure you can relate.

What’s the answer? Well, it’s different for everyone, but the bottom line is that we need to pay attention to our signals, and to take care of ourselves. When things get too much, it helps to outsource. We simply can’t do it all ourselves. You may have employees, but many small business owners don’t. For those of us who don’t, there comes a time when we need to bring in some help, even just every now and then.

Reasons to outsource:

• Gives you help for your small business
• Allows you to free up time that could be better spent doing something else
• Lets you delegate things that you don’t particularly enjoy doing, or that aren’t in alignment with your strengths
• Allows you to focus on growing your business – planning, strategizing, etc.
• Helps you focus on the things you enjoy and are really good at
• Gives you more time for relaxing and balance – more peace of mind.

Keep in mind that these don’t necessarily need to be business tasks. I outsource housecleaning on a monthly basis, and I outsource my tax preparation at the end of the year. Those are two things that I really dread doing and take up too much of my time. For me, taxes are a no-brainer. Cleaning? Not so much. It took me a long time to make that jump – but boy, am I glad I did! Some people outsource their grocery shopping or yard work and use that time to work on their business. It’s a matter of preference.

So what was my feeling of overwhelm today telling me? That I need to outsource a bit more so I can get more done. Maybe it’s my bookkeeping, maybe it’s an occasional copywriting project, or maybe it’s something I haven’t even realized yet. I’ll figure it out once I start listening to myself better.

Are you feeling even the slightest bit overwhelmed? If not, good for you! If you are, take time to listen to yourself today, then act on what you discover.

P.S. If promoting your business online is what leaves YOU feeling overwhelmed, I can help with that.

Let’s first talk about exactly what that means. For the purpose of this article, we’re talking about accountability in the workplace, and your small- to mid-size business is the focus.

Accountability has various definitions, but the word is typically used to denote personal responsibility for getting desired results. Accountability is an essential element of the business world, and successful organizations build systems into their daily plan that encourage accountability. Strategic planning within the organization is absolutely crucial for success.

The subject of accountability evokes a different response from different people. You’ll see positive and negative reactions, because accountability is synonymous with responsibility, ethics, and often blame and guilt. It’s common for someone to resist being accountable – not necessarily because they don’t want to do a good job, but because of the negative feelings that traditionally go along with it.

What does this mean for your company?

Do you struggle with this in your business? It’s hard to get folks to own up sometimes. In order to get our staff to be more accountable, you have to start right off with straight-forward communication.  If you want your managers and employees to get on board and help you achieve your goals, you’ve got to communicate your vision.

Lead by example.

As a manager, you cannot expect to hold others accountable for their actions if you don’t hold yourself accountable for yours. Walk the walk, and let everyone see you do it. Be the leader and get results.

Leadership is motivating others to do something, to believe something or to act a certain way. It’s the pattern of behaviors you use in your own practice that influences the behavior of others. Leadership is all about bringing out the best in the people around you.

Leadership lies in helping those people to become invested, generally by asking them to be accountable for some action or set of actions. When someone makes a commitment to doing something concrete, they’re not only much more likely to do it, but they take responsibility for that task and take pride in a job well done.

You’ve heard of the 80/20 Rule, haven’t you?

Otherwise known as the Pareto Principle, the 80/20 Rule is one of the most frequently used methods for improving efficiency today. The basic principle is, for example, that 20% of your efforts reap 80% of your rewards. Consider this: 20% of your sales force brings in 80% of your sales, or in other words, 20% of your work will bring 80% of the results.

Interesting, isn’t it?

Is that true for every company? Maybe not for every organization, but you’d be amazed at how accurate it is overall.

“Drive thy business or it will drive thee.”    – Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790)

How do you apply this principle to your company? Simply recognizing that a small percentage of your overall work is providing the biggest results can open your eyes to habitual time wasters and lost “holes” in a day, resulting in a huge boost in productivity. Focus on the 20% that is producing results. Reward and show value to those employees who make things happen. Pay special attention to your key clients, and they will help your business grow through increased work and referrals. Identify what makes up that 20% in your business, and make it even better.

Now, let’s look at this in a slightly different way.

What would you say if someone told you that 80% of your problems come from 20% of your employees, clients, etc.? It’s pretty typical that in many businesses, a mere 20% of any component of your business causes 80% of your headaches. Apply this to examples such as tasks, clients, contacts, vendors, staff members, projects, etc. and see what you come up with!

So, that’s a problem, right?

It sure is, but what do you do? Your job is to fix the issues by either finding solutions or completely eliminating that 20% that is holding you back. Don’t waste your precious time and effort desperately trying to hold onto that 20% if it’s not going to come around. Sometimes you have to take a step back in order to move forward. Let it go so you can use your precious resources to find new clients, prospects, vendors, etc., who will bring you to that next level.

The core value of the Pareto principle is to recognize that most things in life are not distributed evenly. You’ll be successful when you make decisions on allocating time, resources and effort based on that principle. Focus your energy on that critical 20% that will give you the most bang for your buck, and don’t knock yourself out over the other 80%. Focus on the things that make you successful and happy and give you the greatest return. Then, determine the characteristics that work well and figure out how to replicate them. It’s well worth the extra effort over the long term.

“To succeed as a team is to hold all of the members accountable for their expertise.”
– Mitchell Caplan, CEO, E*Trade Group Inc.

So ask yourself, are you focusing on the top 20%, or the bottom 80%?

Confused About How to Use Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn?

I was just reading this article on 60SecondMarketer.com. Thanks to @andrewghayes who brought it to my attention on Twitter. I LOVE the analogies and thought I’d share!

Facebook is like a Pub — an informal place to talk casually with people and get to know people on a more personal 
basis. It’s okay to tell a joke in a pub. You can also talk about what you did over the weekend.

LinkedIn is like a Trade Show — a slightly more formal place to meet other business professionals and connect with them primarily for business purposes. You don’t tell dirty jokes at a Trade Show. Nor would you do that on LinkedIn.

Twitter is like a Cocktail Party — an energetic place where there are many conversations going on at once. If you like the conversation going on in one group, you might share the information with people in the next conversation you have.

YouTube is like Times Square on New Year’s Eve — a place where it’s hard to break through, but if you do, millions of people will see you.

MySpace is like Woodstock — wild, crazy and perfect for the younger generation or cause-oriented marketing.

I retweeted the article, and @steveames chimed in that it was pretty early in the day to be at a cocktail party (around 6:30 am) – and that maybe we all have a problem! I guess he’s right – but since I was drinking tea, I figured it was ok.

Truth is, there’s no right or wrong rules on how to use Twitter. Just do what works for you!

P.S. How do YOU view Social Networking? Leave a comment!

After building a blog at Best Website Tips for over a year, I decided it was high time I started one here. It might be quiet for a while, but big things are happening so please be patient! Good stuff coming soon.