This is a guest post by Jens P. Berget who writes a blog at Slymarketing.com.

My Awesome Mexican Friend

I believe marketing is about creating strong relationships, and that by focusing on relationships we’ll have much more fun, and we’ll experience long term success.

We should listen to our customers, and join them in discussions, in order to find and discover what we can do to help them and to make our relationship even stronger.

Let me give you an example from when I visited my awesome Mexican friend.

I believe that this can be used on any business, and any type of relationship with customers.

We met in High School

Victor is his name.

We met in August 1990, in Blaine, a small town close to the border of Canada. I was an exchange student from Norway, and he was an exchange student from Mexico.

We became close friends within the first week of school. During the year I played basketball, and I had a lot of things on my mind. The culture was different from what I was used to, and I had to adapt to blend in. I met up with Victor during the weekends, and we did all sorts of things together.

Now, don’t get me wrong, but one of those things was drink beer. I’m not going to brag that I drank a lot, or that I was a party animal, because I wasn’t. But, we were teenage boys, and we were in the US, and we had a really good time.

That’s it.

The trip to Mexico

What happened when I visited him in Mexico about 10 years later made me laugh and it made me a little worried.

I traveled with my girlfriend at the time, she’s now my wife, and we met him at the airport in Cancun. He looked the same, and he acted the same. The first thing he did was give me a cold Corona (beer).

Wow. I wasn’t sure what to say. I want to believe that I said thank you. But all I remember is that I was stunned.

I never told him that I hadn’t been drinking beer in a very long time. And that I really liked Coca-Cola a lot more than beer. And now, standing there with a cold Corona in my hand, I was unsure how to handle the situation. We were going to be on vacation with him and his family for two weeks, and the first thing he did, almost before he said hi, was give me a beer. I looked at my girlfriend and I could see that she was both a little surprised and skeptical.

In Victor’s world, we were back in the US and we were 10 years younger. I realized that we hadn’t been talking about our lives in this sense at all. He had a girlfriend and he was working for a real estate agent in Merida, and I was almost finished with my masters degree, and that was it. I didn’t know anything else about him, and neither did he about me.

I drank the beer, and I decided to sit down and talk with him as soon as I got the chance. I did sit down to talk with him, while drinking another Corona. When I told him about my life and that I hadn’t been drinking beer in a very long time, he started laughing. He told me that he was so concerned about this vacation, and that he hadn’t been drinking beer in a very long time either. Life was very different from High School in the US for both of us.

While talking, it felt like we were creating our relationship all over again, and that I really understood who he was as a person. He told me about his parents, his sisters and his girlfriend and I understood why I enjoyed being with him in the first place. This talk took no more than 30 minutes, but it was the one thing that turned our stay into a fantastic and unforgettable vacation in the Yucatan Peninsula.

I have thought a lot about what would have happened if we didn’t have this talk. 

I truly believe in creating strong relationships with your customers.

And that if you do, you’ll have so much more fun and long-term success.

Think about my trip and my awesome Mexican friend, who turned out to be just like me.

Jens P. Berget is a Norwegian author, who is currently writing his first novel. He is also writing a blog called slymarketing, where he explains marketing by using analogies from his experiences in life.

Need some questions to ask on Twitter?

Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers. -Voltaire

Questions are a great way to engage your audience on Twitter, come to understand their opinions, and a fantastic way to have fun.

There are many more benefits to asking questions on Twitter, but I’ll let you learn from first hand experience.

Go ahead, ask a question on Twitter! 

1. Is the death penalty wrong?
2. Who was your first love?
3. Are you a morning person, or night person?
4. Are you happy?
5. What is your nightly bedtime routine?
6. If you were invisible, where would you go and what would you do?
7. Do you watch sports on TV?
8. What is your biggest dream in life?
9. What’s the longest you’ve gone without sleep?
10. Obama: Yay or nay?
11. What is your favorite word?
12. Have you ever gone cow tipping?
13. Do you have any addictions?
14. Have you ever asked someone to marry you?
15. What’s your least favorite word?
16. What are your hobbies?
17. Is there a certain person in your life you love so much, you’d be willing to give your life for them?
18. What have you given up on?
19. Do you think about past lovers?
20. As a child, what was your favorite book?
21. How many eggs are in a dozen?
22. Have you ever been stung by a bee?
23. Are you an introvert or extrovert?
24. What’s the last book you read?
25. What’s your #1 most played iTunes song?
26. Have you ever been to jail?
27. Are you happy with your life?
28. What religion do you practice?
29. What was your first date like?
30. Do you know your ancestry, heritage, and culture?
31. What are your pet peeves?
32. Have you ever tried to steal?
33. Do you lie often?
34. If you could take a year off to travel, where would you go?
35. Do you have a role model?
36. Where’s your “thinking” place?
37. What’s the sickest you’ve ever been?
38. Do you believe in miracles?
39. What books have changed your life?
40. What’s your favorite quote?
41. Do you believe in an afterlife?
42. Are you still learning who you are?
43. What foods did you hate as a child, that you love now?
44. Would you rather be rich or healthy?
45. What is an easy way to sum up life?
46. How many pairs of shoes do you have?
47. Do you like spending your money or saving it?
48. Who is the most important person in your life?
49. Do you have regrets?
50. How many hours a week do you spend watching TV?
51. Are you proud of what you’ve accomplished in your life?
52. Favorite color?
53. How would you describe your mother?
54. What countries have you traveled to?
55. How often do you check your email?
56. Who’s your favorite music artist?
57. What would you do tomorrow if you found $1,000,000 in your bank account?
58. Would you like to be a funnier person?
59. Do you like yourself?
60. When did you not speak up when you should have?
61. What fears are holding you back?
62. What food did you love most as a child?
63. In the haste of our daily lives, what are we not seeing?
64. Do you go to the movies?
65. Do you like where you live?
66. What is a sound you love?
67. What’s your earliest memory?
68. Would you rather be executed or spend life in prison?
69. How many books do you read each month?
70. Have you ever been on TV?
71. Where do you want to retire?
72. What is your favorite breakfast food?
73. Do you read movie reviews?
74. What have you gained from your current job, other than money?
75. Life is too short to tolerate _____ ?
76. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we so afraid to make mistakes?
77. What worries you most about the future?
78. What is the difference between living and existing?
79. Do you believe in God?
80. What’s your perfect date?
81. Why do you matter?
82. What do you want to be when you grow up?
83. What sound do you love?
84. Do you exercise daily?
85. Who’s your favorite director?
86. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
87. What are you procrastinating on right at this moment?
88. Would you rather be good looking, or rich?
89. Do you play any instruments?
90. Are you a glass half full, or glass half empty type person?
91. Do you cry while watching movies?
92. If you could bring one person back to life, who would it be?
93. What type of music do you listen to?
94. What is something you learned today?
95. What celebrity do people think you look like?
96. At what age did you become an adult?
97. What’s on your bucket list?
98. Do you believe honesty is the best policy?
99. Are you happy with yourself?
100. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
101. What’s the grossest thing you’ve ever eaten?
102. Do you drink enough water?
103. Do you like the smell of rain?
104. If you could be a character from a book or movie, who would it be?
105. If you could be a certain age forever, what would it be?
106. What does your future hold?
107. What songs are on the soundtrack of your life?
108. What impact do you want to leave on the world?
109. Do you like your job?
110. What cheers you up?
111. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
112. If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your personal mentor?
113. The best part of waking up is?
114. Are you holding onto something that you need to let go of?
115. Were you an A student?
116. Have you ever danced in the rain?
117. What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?
118. Do you have pets?
119. Cats or dogs?
120. If today was the last day of your life, would you want to do what you are about to do today?
121. What are your favorite TV shows?
122. When do you remember being happiest?
123. What do you like doing in your spare time?
124. How would you like to be remembered?
125. Why are you, you?
126. What chore do you hate most?
127. Are you Eco conscious?
128. Which season do you love most?
129. What would you like listed on your grave?
130. Do you want kids?
131. What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?
132. Do you like school?

This is a guest post by Danielle Rodabaugh, who kindly sent in this guest post for entrepreneurs (young and old alike) who want to learn more about surety bonds.

As an entrepreneur who’s planning to start an enterprise, you obviously have a lot on your plate. Compiling a comprehensive business plan and budget is key to getting started. Most entrepreneurs expect to shell out money for office space, telecommunications, supplies, marketing costs and employee wages from the get-go. However, entrepreneurs can easily forget about the costs associated with various license, permit and registration fees. One of the most common hidden costs of starting a business is the purchase of a surety bond.

What is a surety bond?

Surety bonds tend to be the first budget buster that comes along with starting a new business because many entrepreneurs don’t know what surety bonds are or why they need them. They also don’t realize that laws typically require business owners to secure a bond before they can even apply for a business license, which means there’s no way to avoid paying for potentially expensive premiums.

So what is a surety bond, anyway? By definition, a surety bond is a three-party contract that binds together a principal who needs the bond, an obligee who requires the bond and a surety that backs the bond. The bond guarantees that the principal will act according to certain laws. If the principal fails to perform in this manner, the bond will cover resulting damages or losses.

How does bonding benefit entrepreneurs?

If you’re required to purchase a bond, its primary purpose is to protect consumers and government agencies from financial loss. However, you’ll still receive some key benefits from your surety bond purchase.

• Higher industry standards. One of the major reasons government agencies require bonds is to ensure business owners follow industry regulations. If you work in an industry that requires bonds, you know that professionals are held accountable for their professional performance, which means you and your competition are prohibited from participating in unethical business tactics.
• Customer confidence. You’ve likely heard other business owners advertise their enterprises as being legally licensed and bonded. They do so to assure potential clients that they’ve decided to work with a reputable company. Consumers feel more confident when working with bonded enterprises.
• Limited competition. The strict nature of the bonding application process means not all applicants can qualify for the bonds they need. When applicants have poor financial credentials that disqualify them for a bond, they’re unable to get licensed, which limits the number of enterprises you have to compete against in order to make money.

How long do bonds last?

Depending on your state’s statutes, your bond must remain in effect for a certain period of time to ensure that your business license remains valid. In most cases, surety bonds are issued for one or two-year terms. To avoid a lapse in bonding coverage, you’ll have to renew the bond before it expires each and every time. You’ll have to pay a renewal fee each time your bond is renewed, so it’s important to account for this annual or biennial expense in your budget.

Underestimating the costs involved with starting a business can put your new enterprise in the hole before you even get started. By setting aside funds to pay for your bonding needs now and in the future, you’ll get your new business venture started out on the right foot.

Danielle Rodabaugh is the chief editor at SuretyBonds.com, a surety bond insurance provider that works with entrepreneurs every day to help them open for business as soon as possible.

This is a guest post from Lawrence Sykes, a consultant and entrepreneur.

Everyone has his own success mantra.

You may have heard several times that millions of people are online for business ventures or to make money online from the comfort of home.

You may have also read the success stories of people getting online, making money and changing their lives.

If it is true then why can’t you be one of them?

Bear in mind, it’s never too late to start a venture and be successful in it.

One of the most appealing and relatively easier making money online ventures is starting an online business. An online business is an avenue or a wonderful option that allows entrepreneurs to find out buyers for his products from all around the world and allows buyers to examine products offered by different suppliers and buy after comparing features with other competitors in the market. Reliable entrepreneurs mark their presence so buyers prefer buying from them without leaving home.

The best thing in the world is to be your own boss.

Getting online and selling products to make money online is not just fun but it has serious side as well. For instance, getting involved with any business web portal to register business presence and get hold of resources to grow your business is a serious concern.

Once you get to know the basics of selling and acquiring customers on web portal then it becomes the right avenue for you to begin the online business venture. Finding reliable information about entrepreneurs, business happenings, products, services, highlighted features, competitive sources, featured pricing and online bargaining has never been so easy before the advent of web. This ease and facility to neglect the location, size of business and to develop many contacts is provided by online directories and online wholesale portals.

Business rules are somewhat similar for both kinds of businesses but online world becomes challenging for the startups, as it is a large world of customers. Not to worry about how and where to store your inventory, not even how will you ship your products to final costumers. Wholesale distributor and supplier will take care of such matters. The only issue that can be your headache is how to market your offers. Once you get over all these issues, you can make money online in bucks.

Remember that customers are the key to success in any business and even more for online business but repeating customers are more important for your success. You should always have a professional yet amiable approach while dealing with all new, previous and potential customers.

The only important thing is not that you are in online business venture but you must also remember rules and regulations to conduct online business. Don’t just sink yourself in the larger world of customers to make money online but also try to satisfy them so that they will come again and again to you and you can make more money online.

Lawrence Sykes was raised in one of the poorest areas of Manchester, England, and having left school with few qualifications, he is now a successful and trusted make money online and offline business owner, consultant and entrepreneur.  He also coaches private entrepreneurial clients running small localised businesses to multi-million pound international organisations.  He is also providing good money making tips to his visitors.

Digital marketing has proven itself to be one of the best marketing strategies.

It is fast and much more effective than the rest. There are countless types of online digital marketing available for businesses. But we do not recommend that all businesses indulge in all of these types. Some businesses do a lot better through SEO marketing than PPC whereas others do better with social media than email marketing.

The best method to figure out which one will be better for your business and your financial budget is to consult someone who can analyze your business, audience, market and niche to determine the best plan for you!

Web Design

Having a properly designed website is the most important step in digital marketing of a business. If your company has an old, poorly built website, then please go get a new one for such websites give a very bad impression about the company.

No matter how well established your company is the very first impression your customers get of you is through your website. So make sure it gives the right image!

Making a graphically vibrant website with the correct information can be a very painstaking process. Most of all, choosing the right web design company for your company’s website is extremely crucial. And for that, you will have to do a bit of homework!

Follow these three simple steps in order to make a good website for your company:

1. Establishment of Goals
2. Determining the budget
3. Choosing the right website services providers

Establish Your Goals

Before you start your “web-design company hunt” it is better to sit for a while and establish a list of goals for the website. Why does your company need it, and how will this website affect your company’s progress? Answers to these questions are important, so that you know what to expect from your website.

Take your time and answer each and every question that comes to your mind on the same lines. Furthermore, these are some of those questions your web design company will ask you too. Once you have this sorted out, you won’t have to worry about what sort of a web designer you require, because everything would be crystal clear in front of you!

Determine Your Budget

How much money can your company afford to spend on this website? Website design costs vary within a range of $100 to $100,000 depending on what goals you have set up for this website. Know your spending budget before going to the web designer. And once you’ve done that, don’t ever tell your web designer what your budget is!

Pick a Web Design Company

Your choice of a web design company is a very important step. Take your time to investigate all of your options. Here are some important items to consider.

Design vs. Build - Depending on the outreach of your company and its website, you might want to consult two website designers. There is a difference between building a website and designing a website. Building is a highly technical process whereas designing is a creative one. It might be that one designer is good at “building” whereas the other one is great at “designing”.

Many advertisement firms specialize in creatively designing the websites whereas they might not be good in terms of development. So make sure, you keep both aspects in mind when making the right decision.

Evaluate Experience - Has the web designer you have chosen for your website had any experience in making the type of website you want? Has this design company had any experience working with the same industry? This is one of the considerations you would have to take, because this affects the web design a lot. Do not hesitate to ask the company these questions.

Review the Portfolio - A well-established web design company would have a maintained record of websites it has created in the past. In other words they would have a website “portfolio”. Ask them for the links to those websites. Once they do give you the links, scroll through the websites carefully. Do you like what they’ve created? Would you want your website to be designed the same way?

Compare Prices - Don’t just go to one web designer. Visit a few web designing companies who you think are capable enough to design your company’s website. Once you’ve listed down the top five firms, compare their prices. Which one of them would be most suitable for your requirements and be economical for your company too. Be rational: even if you can afford any kind of service, don’t squander money on something you do not need.

Just remember, there are numerous web designers nationwide who could fight for your business! So be choosy! If a web designer dismissed any of your queries and concerns, take your business elsewhere! Trust me, you have the right to do so!

Brendan Egan is a digital marketing guru and runs a successful marketing business as well. His company, Simple SEO Group, provides all kinds of marketing services online. To contact Brendan or find out about the services, please visit SimpleSEOGroup.com.

You may have noticed I’ve been distant and hard to contact in recent weeks. It’s been a life altering time for me. To my Mormon friends and readers, I apologize for the brazen comments below. I’ve undergone many life choices and changes in the past few months, and some of them have included leaving the Mormon church. I love my Mormon friends and associates, but know I’ve made the conscious choice to separate myself from the organization. I do not seek to give this post an anti-Mormon signature, but these are the events that occurred and my honest thoughts behind them. It is my sincere hope that the comments below save or give hope to at least one individual who is feeling discouraged. You are loved. Follow your heart, and the universe will help.

This is from the heart, and I wanted you to hear.

I’ve never been happier, since the time I decided to start following my heart.

One recent choice was in leaving the Mormon church.

Leaving was certainly one of the most difficult ventures I’ve ever taken part in.

In its simplicity, I chose a different path from that of my parents, grandparents, family members, and many friends. It was the very societal structure I once considered my “home” and “happy place.”

I was scared to leave.

My Inner Pain

For years the pain of being “different” from the rest ate at my soul.

I discovered I was bisexual at the young age of 11.

I simply knew I was attracted to both men and women. At the time I thought, “How could this be? Was I loved? Was this a punishment or trial I had to encounter throughout life in order to come closer to God?” For years and years, being the eldest of six children, churchgoing, and a young man with a strong will – I pushed those feelings away. I thought it was the right thing to do at the time.

I boxed up my human sexuality, an important part of life, and threw it away in hopes that God would heal me.

It went as far as causing me to go on a mission for the Mormon church.

I believed.
I wanted to.

It was prayer from the beginning, and I remember vividly asking, “God, if you are there, if I serve a valiant mission, will you take this bitter side of my sexuality away? I know it is wrong to be attracted to men, but for me it feels right too. It doesn’t feel wrong. Why is that? Will you fix it? Will you fix me? Will you change me? Christian?”

Now let me make it perfectly clear that aside from my inner struggles with the Mormon church, its doctrine (e.g. from my beliefs of God, the unknown, Prophets, organized religion, and more), and my own beliefs; I gained much from my mission. It was an honor to serve people. I grew from the experience and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s helped make me the person I am today.

“Why can’t I hold all these limes?”

A year into my mission I became terribly ill.

After a long battle (and almost two years of misdiagnosis) it was finally found I had Lyme disease.

Battling Lyme disease became my mountain to climb, as well as the other mountains I would soon climb.

The pain of Lyme disease caused me much discomfort.

With Lyme disease it’s not enough to just “live.”
There must be something to live for.

Add to the Lyme battle that I was still fighting back my disbelief of the Mormon church, containing my sexuality, the church retracting my health care coverage and trying to be positive at all times - it all became too much.

The End of Life

For months and months and months I thought about death being an easy escape.

It occurred in my mind over, and over again. 

It all came to a certain, vivid point in my life when I decided I would end my life.

Heavy doses of drugs and my shotgun, and all would soon be peaceful.

Throughout that day I was nervous, and feeling rather ill, so I decided to rest.

I turned on some music and laid in bed.

The song, Somewhere Over the Rainbow (by Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwoʻole), came on.

I sobbed, and sobbed, and sobbed.

I couldn’t go through with what I was planning.

I realized I was strong.
Stronger than death.
Stronger than pain.
Stronger than hurt.

The words spoke to me…

Someday I’ll wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney tops that’s where you’ll find me

Music saved my life.

The Awakening

All at once I realized many things.

I was talented.

I was special.

I was different.

I was loved.

I had problems.

I was, who I am, who I is…Christian.

That’s when I decided I needed to tell my parents about my beliefs, and finally make what I believed inside, what was true for me on the outside too.

Within a short period of time they came to know about my bisexuality, as well as my removal from church activity.

What occurred over the next month between some family members and friends became bitter, sad, and hurtful. Separation occurred.

However, from this point on I will strive to be a positive person, and will do my best to forget this period of my life.

When I find myself in times of trouble…let it be.

The rest, is history.

A Time of Happiness

Again, I state, I’ve never been happier since making these changes in my life.

I’ve even gained 6 pounds in the last two weeks. Nothing says happiness like a full tummy and round cheeks!

For the first time ever, I don’t know what comes around the next corner. I don’t know what’s coming after the bend. There’s no organization telling me what my next move should be.

Is it marriage? Is it this? Is it that? I don’t know. But why should we?

Life wouldn’t be a journey if we knew what was coming, and replaced our own free will and choice with someone or some-thing to make those decisions for us.

For the first time in my life I help other people because I want to.

I help others because Christian wants to help others.

Not Jesus, not my Dad, not Oprah, not my friend, not Ghandi, not God. But me.

For this reason, I feel the direction of my life is changing.

I want to travel the globe and see the different people on it. I want to experience cultures. I hope to one day find myself in a position of influence in order to help bring clothes, food, shelter, medicine, and more…to those who are less privileged. I hope to make changes for good. I hope to serve. And why? Because I want to.

For the first time in a long time, I feel more comfortable about my body. I’m finding the freedom from religious bondage quite lovely. I drink coffee, and I love it. I socially drink, and it’s enjoyable. I have long, deep conversations about life with my friends; some of whom are Atheist, Baptist, Born Again Christian, and Buddhist. All people whom it would have been more difficult to meet and associate with in my previous life.

I’m grateful I’m not missing out on their company.

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger

For the first time ever, I feel good enough.

I know I am not perfect, yet I also know now that I am perfect the way I am.

I have scars, mishaps, marks, and differences from others; but that’s what makes me, me.

I’m finally very happy, and I’m not going anywhere.

My thoughts are brought back to the words of the song, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and I think of that simple word.

Somewhere.

Somewhere is where we find our place in this world.

Not there, not here, nor anywhere; but somewhere. Is it a certain religion? Is it a certain school? Is it a certain job?

Nope, it’s somewhere.

The past few months have been a lesson in life, and finding that somewhere for me.

I’m growing to love others for who they are, and ultimately, coming to love myself.

These words are difficult to share.

They’re a glimpse into my life, heart, and soul.

However, if I preach transparency, them I’m sure as hell going to be transparent.

Whether you agree with me or not, this is who I am, and I present myself to you…

“Hello, I’m Agnostic. I’m Christian.”

Tasmania photo by Lozula of Finding The Universe.

I’m one of the six finalists in the Most Likeable Marketing Thought Leader category for the 2012 Likeable Awards.

Voting occurs from now until May 9th.

If you can spare a vote, I’d really appreciate it.

1. Visit this link: http://likeableawards.com
2. Click VOTE NOW
3. Select MOST LIKEABLE MARKETING THOUGHT LEADER category
4. Select CHRISTIAN HOLLINGSWORTH as the finalist
5. Enter the code
6. Click VOTE

I sit in humble appreciation of all those who constantly push, prod, and poke me to reach for more.

Passion for life. That’s the way.

Passion – strong and barely controllable emotion.

Tweeting someone back? Put your passion in it. Mulling over finances? Put your passion in it. Giving a hug? Put your passion in it. Writing a blog post? Put your passion in it. Planning a trip? Put your passion in it. At the gym trying to work off an extra ten pounds by running on the treadmill? Put your passion in it. Meditating? Put your passion in it. Crying? Put your passion in it. Performing on stage? Put your passion in it. Yelling? Put your passion in it. Cleaning the house? Put your passion in it. Shopping for your favorite pair of jeans? Put your passion in it. Giving someone a shoulder to cry on? Put your passion in it. Looking for a better job? Put your passion in it. Creating a YouTube video? Put your passion in it. Starting your own business by investing your retirement funds as capital? Put your passion in it. Eating a glorious meal? Put your passion in it. Laughing? Put your passion in it. Trying to be creative? Put your passion in it. Healing? Put your passion in it. Fixing a problem? Put your passion in it. Drawing a picture from memory? Put your passion in it. Riding a ride at Disneyland? Put your passion in it. Flying over the open ocean to reach a destination? Put your passion in it. Getting married? Put your passion in it. Rowing a boat? Put your passion in it. Studying for a final exam? Put your passion in it. Performing at a recital? Put your passion in it. Loving? Put your passion in it. Jumping for joy? Put your passion in it. Striving to make more money? Put your passion in it. Trying to dress better? Put your passion in it. Reading? Put your passion in it. Writing a novel? Put your passion in it. Greeting customers? Put your passion in it. Smiling? Put your passion in it. Grieving over the loss of a loved one? Put your passion in it. Writing in your journal? Put your passion in it. Sleeping? Put your passion in it. Solving a math equation? Put your passion in it. Flying a kite? Put your passion in it. Making a child laugh? Put your passion in it. Enjoying the sunshine? Put your passion in it. Sobbing uncontrollably while watching The Notebook? Put your passion in it. Loving another as yourself? Put your passion in it. Watching the sunset? Put your passion in it. Taking a picture? Put your passion in it. Facebook status update? Put your passion in it. Spellcheck? Put your passion in it.

Living life?
Put your passion in it.

Planehenge photo by Lozula, who blogs over at Finding the universe. I think his photography is some of the best on the face of the globe. I’d prefer his photography over the morning paper any-day.

If you are using gravity forms plugin to manage form management system of your blog then you should surely check this list of wordpress plugins because it might be useful for you to empower your gravity forms in all aspects. It makes your work much easier than before.

1. Gravity Forms HubSpot Add-on

This wordpress plugin uses Hubspot Lead API to allow you to send landing pages based on your gravity forms to pass lead information to Hubspot.

Download

2. Gravity Forms Highrise Plugin

Highrise is a web based contact manager application  which act asa central place to keep all of your customers and user information like data’s, email ids, notes and much more organized at once place. This plugin will integrate gravity forms with highrise account so you can upload user information directly from gravity forms dashboard.

Download

3. Gravity forms Stripe Addon

Stripe allows you to process credit cards securely and easily directly on your site without having to deal with merchant account. This nifty wordpresss plugin will integrate stripe with your gravity forms plugins so you can process all credit card information from gravity forms.

Download

4. Mad Mimi Add-on

It is a simple and powerful email marketing utility for wordpress powered blogs. It is the simple way to create brand by many customized emails newsletter and promotions. This madmini wordpress plugin will adds all functionality with gravity forms so users email and data’s stored in gravity forms database can be accessed via madmini.

Download

5. iContact

iContact is the popular email marketing software from vocus. This tiny addons wil integrate gravity forms with iContact account so whenever an user signup or register in your site their email address will be automatically added to your iContact dashboard which can be further used for sending newsletter and other messages.

Download

6. PixCaptcha Image Captcha

This tiny wordpress plugin will add unique image identification CAPTCHA to gravity forms of your website to protect your website from spam and invalid entries.

Download

7. Gravity forms Toolbar

A lightweight plugin which adds gravity forms related options and settings to your wordpress admin / toolbar that makes easier for you to change the gravity forms setting s on –the-go.

Download

8. CapsuleCRM Add-on

CapsuleCRM is excellent customer relationship management software that helps you to track of the people and companies and make communication with them. By installing this plugin it will completely bridge the gap between capsule CRM and gravity forms plugin but it required premium version of gravity forms plugin.

Download

9. Gravity forms Pop-up

A small wordpress widget to add Gravity Form in dialog popup style box that add a delay, a position, and an introduction page.

Download

10. Placeholders add-on

It adds HTML5 placeholder support to your gravity forms plugin with a JavaScript fallback. You need JavaScript and jQuery to run this plugin.

Download

11. ShootQ add-on

ShootQ is powerful cloud based photographer studio management software that helps you to connect with users, photographers and all client contacts easily. This tiny wordpress plugin will connect gravity forms with your ShootQ account for collecting all leads you get.

Download

Enjoyed reading the article? If you know any other wordpress plugin that will helps to power up gravity forms please share with us in comments.

About the Author

This is a guest post by Ron Davis. A freelance blogger and a passionate social media marketer, who is currently working on the site Gravity forms discount where you can buy gravity forms at 40% off and get detail information about gravity forms addons.

This guest post is by Mandy Kilinskis, who works as a content developer for Quality Logo Products.

Social media contests and promotions can be awesome. They build recognition, increase your followers and fans, and interest people in your products.

On the other hand, if not properly executed, you could have a potential public relations disaster.

Many companies spend time and energy developing a great promotion, but kick back once the winners are picked.

But problem is what can really make or break your promotion is how quickly you respond to your winners.

So here are four tips to ensure that your winners are happy, and your brand makes it through your promotion unscathed.

1. Contact your winner(s).

Pick your winners in a timely manner. I use the vague “timely manner” because response time depends on the type of contest and how many entries you have. If you have a thousand essays to read, that may take weeks; if you have a hundred Instagram pictures to sort through, that only needs days.

Social media has shortened the patience of the average consumer. So even though they are receiving a free product or service, they will criticize if you take too long to respond.

Pro tip: Pick alternates; though don’t advertise that you did.

2. Collect necessary information.

Once you’ve made your selection, contact your winners via email or their social media accounts. Give them clear, easy information and guidelines about how to contact you about collecting their prize.

If you don’t receive a response, try contacting them again in a few days. If there’s still no answer, you’ve done the most you can. Either drop that particular prize altogether, or move on to one of your alternates.

Pro tip: Check your email and accounts often to catch responses. Make sure you browse through your spam filters to see if their emails landed up there.

3. Keep your winners informed.

Once you have all of the necessary information from your winners, be sure to send them a confirmation email. If possible, give them a very loose estimated time of arrival. Feel free to send multiple email updates about the state of your contest.

Keeping your winners up to date won’t just delight them, but it will also save you the hassle of having answer each and every “When is my prize coming????” email, wall post, or tweet.

Pro tip: Don’t be afraid to tell your winners if it will take a while to get their prizes shipped out. Waiting is far better than wondering.

4. Send out your prize.

Once you have everything in order, get those prizes sent out! Ask your winners to take pictures with their prizes and post them on your Facebook wall. Happy brand advocates and user-generated content? What more could you ask for?

Pro tip: Announce that you’re sending out prizes on your social media accounts in addition to emailing the recipients. You’ll generate a ton of buzz with anticipation!

Without acting fast and keeping your winners in the know, you risk the possibility of losing valuable customers and generating negative word of mouth. And nobody wants that!

Have you held any social media promotions? If so, were they successful? Any tips you’d like to add?

—

Mandy Kilinskis is a content developer for Quality Logo Products. When she’s not writing descriptions for their promotional tote bags, she’s writing blog posts about improving your work place.

I decided to take part in the #PhotoADayMay challenge created by @fatmumslim.

For the next month I’ll be using my iPhone to take photos of each day’s “prompt,” of which you can see a text version below. Once I’ve taken the photo, I’ll use Instagram to promote the daily photo to my various social networks.

You’ll find the photo I took for “peace” to the right. It’s a photo of my little frog statue. Reading has always been my peaceful place.

I invite you to join me in this photo challenge during the month of May.

It’s a great way to ponder, think, and grow.

The photo prompts by day:

1. peace
2. skyline
3. something you wore today
4. fun!
5. bird
6. you
7. someone that inspires you
8. a smell you adore
9. something you do everyday
10. a favorite word
11. kitchen
12. something that makes you happy
13. mum
14. grass
15. love
16. what you’re reading
17. snack
18. something you made
19. a favorite place
20. something you can’t live without
21. where you stand
22. pink
23. technology
24. something new
25. unusual
26. 12′o clock
27. something sweet
28. the weather today
29. a number
30. your personality
31. something beautiful

In what ways do you hope to grow from this exercise? How often do you take photos? Have you ever completed a photo journalism challenge? Do you believe pictures are worth a thousand words? Do you have a favorite photo?

Recently I had the opportunity to donate some funds to help purchase “The Hunger Games” books for a classroom in a low-income area nearby. Below is what the teacher had to say about her student’s experience, which I thought was rather touching. Giving to others is an important part of life, and I hope to continually remember how important it is to inspire, motivate, and be an example to children of all ages.

Dear Christian Hollingsworth,

I cannot adequately express my gratitude for our new The Hunger Games books. When the box was opened the screams of delight went through the roof. To have 40 brand new books presented to my students is unimaginable. Recently, we were taping together shared copies of The Giver, and unfortunately many of our shared novels have been ruined due to lack of funding to replace them. Your donations to buy these new novels could not have come at a better time.

To hold a book that has never been touched before is something many of my students have never experienced; the enjoyment of creasing a new book brings smiles to my students’ faces. The ability to teach new and current curriculum doesn’t come easily with budget cuts. Because of your kindness, I am on the cutting edge and now all of the 7th graders want to have Language Arts in my class because we get to read The Hunger Games. In addition to reading the story, the kids are counting the days until we get to go to the movies (which will be in May after STAR testing).

Again, thank you, thank you, thank you! You have provided something neither I, nor my district, could have done. Your kind actions have not gone unnoticed!

With gratitude,
Mrs. Andrus

This is an infographic created and shared by OnlineMBAPrograms.org.

Meghan Faye Wolff is the senior copywriter and marketing specialist for Instabill Corporation. Instabill offers online payment processing solutions for offshore and high risk merchants around the world. Meghan blogs about leading e-commerce and payment industry news.

As a business owner, you don’t have to limit your customer service department to answering phone calls and emails. There are many ways to enhance your company’s customer service, including using social media.

Whether you like it or not, people are talking about your business online — so embrace it by following the five best ways to use social media as a customer service tool.

1. Monitor what people are saying about you and respond to their problems (or praises!) in a quick fashion. In Twitter, search your company’s name to see what positive and negative feedback your company is receiving. Check your mentions for tweets and direct messages frequently. Whether a customer expresses disappointment, has a question, or shows gratitude, always respond to your customers as soon as possible. Also, make sure you respond to customers when they post on your Facebook fan page wall. They’re reaching out to you, and you shouldn’t ignore them. Facebook is much more visible to the masses than Twitter, so if a customer’s problem goes unresolved, others will notice. Not responding to your customers on social media sites may dissuade people from doing business with you.

2. Grant employees within your customer service department access to your company’s Twitter account. With more employees covering customer service on social media sites, you’ll be able to reach more people in a shorter amount of time. To prevent duplicate responses, schedule timeframes for customer service specialists to be responsible for covering each site. Have your employees sign their tweets with their initials, so they know who is talking with them.

3. Initiate and engage in conversations with your customers. If you see that someone has recently liked you on Facebook or followed you on Twitter, check out their page to see if they mentioned purchasing goods or services from your company. If they have, ask them if they were happy with what they bought. For those who were unhappy, find a solution that will make them happy and a returning customer.

4. Connect on LinkedIn for a more professional customer service experience. While Facebook and Twitter are more social, LinkedIn is more of a network of professionals. Connecting with existing and potential customers on LinkedIn will establish a more professional relationship — which may be ideal if you’re a B2B company. Although business owners can create a page for their company on LinkedIn, members of the community have to create their own individual profile, helping employees and customers really getting to know one another.

5. Let your customers know they can reach you anytime via social media. While your customer service phone line may go to an answering machine after office hours, social media never sleeps. Publish posts on a regular basis letting your customers know that they can always contact you with questions and concerns through social media.

When you receive a complaint through social media, how long does it take you to respond? How do you handle your customer relationships on social media websites? What advice do you have for businesses that have recently jumped on the social media bandwagon? 

This is an interview with Wanda Shapiro, an indie author whom The LA Independent has labeled, “the next avant-garde literary find.”

Why did you choose to be an “indie” author?

The indie business model is about individual artists and entrepreneurs leveraging available technology to bring products or services directly to audiences and markets.

Indie ventures are having success across a wide variety of industries because they bring a level of originality and quality to otherwise homogenous markets.

No matter what you’re doing, the human learning curve happens naturally over time and with repitition – and writing is no different.

For me, going indie was a business decision made after a good deal of research and soul searching. It was not a decision I made lightly, and it was not a simple decision, but in the end it was not a difficult decision.

There were four basic reasons why I decided to go indie: because I realized I could; because the publishing industry is in shambles; because big publishing isn’t selling literary fiction well; and because readers are ready for indie literature.

You can read more about my decision here.

Where did your love for writing develop?

Long before I loved to write, I loved to read and books were a big part of my life growing up.

It’s hard to tell what part of that is nurture and what part of that is nature, but writing feels like what I’m supposed to be doing.

What advice would you give to an aspiring author?

Take responsibility for your own writing career and work very hard.

Whether you self-publish or traditionally publish, a writing career does not simply materialize and many aspiring authors have frighteningly unrealistic expectations. If your goal is to get rich, you might want to rethink your plan. And if your goal is to get rich quick, you need a serious reality check.

Being an author is something you do because you love it, and no matter how your book gets to market, it’s a lot of work.

Are authors currently harnessing the power of social media and online marketing?

Some yes, some no.

Some absolutely despise social media while others of us are embracing it and mining it’s connectivity potential. I was recently invited to participate in a panel discussion regarding the intersection of social media and publishing.

I recommend taking a look at the highlights from that discussion if you’re interested in this topic.

How does an author improve their writing, each day?

No matter what you’re doing, the human learning curve happens naturally over time and with repitition – and writing is no different.

However, that being said, I think it’s important for writers to have intelligent, honest feedback from readers in their genre. And it’s important that your early feedback readers be in your genre. If you’re writing literary fiction, for example, it doesn’t help to get feedback from someone who only reads romance novels and the opposite is equally true.

How do you generate interest and traffic for your work online?

My publicity model revolves completely around word-of-mouth which is generated using a few of the various social media platforms available today.

I primarily leverage Facebook and Twitter though I have branched out into Triberr and Google+.

I have never paid for advertising or reviews and I can’t imagine ever doing that.

My plan is all about readers are the ones driving traffic and generating interest.

What’s your favorite food (dish) and why?

Watermelon. Because it’s just perfect.

Do you believe in happily ever after?

Not really. Life would be so boring if everything was happily ever after.

About Wanda

The LA Independent called Wanda Shapiro, “the next avant-garde literary find,” and since the debut of her first novel she has been compared to Hemingway, Salinger, Hitchcock, Burroughs, Marquez, and Calvino. The level of quality Shapiro is bringing to the literary fiction market combined with her indie business model has fans calling her a one-woman Random House and according to one reader, “Sometimes That Happens With Chicken…blazes beyond what we have come to expect from modern fiction…” For more information regarding Wanda Shapiro visit www.onegirlonenovel.com.

Wanda’s Work (from Chapter 1 of Sometimes That Happens With Chicken: A Novel)

Theirs was a well-planned and well-executed secret life that neither of them minded keeping a secret in the face of their love. And their secret life resulted in a rather happy childhood for Ignatious Gillard. By the age of twelve, for having rarely stepped foot out of the renovated fortress at Al-Kharj where he lived with his mother and was visited by his father, Ignatious was quite mature, rather well-educated, completely un-neurotic, and speaking English in a strange accent that he would never quite lose and that no one could ever place. Now, Ignatious Gillard dreams about the happy days of his childhood but doesn’t remember his dreams in the morning. He was properly well-educated after he left Arabia, but he is no longer what you’d call completely un-neurotic. And he still has an accent which is thoroughly unrecognizable.

I was challenged by my friend Jocelyn to write 7 facts about myself.

The opportunity couldn’t be passed up, so I thought I would do my best to come up with a few.

Maybe you already knew these things about me? Maybe not? Surprised? Here it goes.

1) My favorite cuisine is Thai. Thai food is delicious, and I do my best to order a Thai dish in almost every city I visit at least once. I’m lucky to have one of the best Thai restaurants (in my opinion) only twenty minutes away.

2) I’ve never been to Europe. I’ve remedying this problem, however. Just sent in my registration to spend a semester studying abroad in Florence, Italy come February, March, and April of next year.

3) Growing up I raised (or helped raise) chickens, guinea pigs, many dogs, horses, bearded dragons, snakes, fish, hamsters, and birds. I’ve always held a strong affinity for living things in my heart.

4) I’m English, Irish, Scottish, Norwegian, Dutch, Swiss, French, German, and Blackfoot Indian. My Grandma has finished our genealogy in one line back through the Mayflower, to three royal kings (in 16th century Germany, England, and France), and onto Adam and Eve (if you’re using the Bible). Famous people I’m related to are Louisa May Alcott (my 6th cousin), Princess Diana, and “Buffalo” Bill Cody.

5) I once shot a rock with my slingshot through my Grandma’s double-pane dining room window, and went and hid in the cabin of her boat, crying for hours.

6) I start each day with a glass of lemon water, and then a hot shower.

7) Someday I want to learn how to play the bagpipes.

Now I challenge:

• Mandy Kilinskis
• Bojan Djordjevic
• Bruce Sallan
• Rachel Taylor
• Kenny Fabre
• Shouvik Mukherjee
• Jens Berget

Have fun!