There is one simple way to spend less time on Twitter and get more done. Twitter Lists. If you would like to save hours and keep your finger on the pulse read on.

What is a Twitter List?

A way to organize accounts on Twitter, or find new people. It’s a group of accounts that you can personalize any way you see fit. They’re a static list and a live feed of the posts within each list.

There’s a few ways you can use them to save time and get the information you want when you want it.

1. You can create a list, public or private. More on this in a minute.
2. You can follow lists created by others.
3. Others can add you to a list.

You then return to your list to see the custom feed you’ve created. So you don’t have to sift through your entire news feed to try and find specific content, or pull up each account one by one. Time saver!

Twitter lists save you hours and allow you to truly connect with those who matter to you. Get organized and have fun!

There’s two mistakes I see entrepreneurs make: They ignore Twitter Lists. Or they have 20 of them that they don’t use. Let’s find the perfect balance. Ready to get organized and have fun?

[Tweet “Real engagement. Real connections. Real results.”]

How to create a Twitter List:

1. Navigate to your Lists page on Twitter. There are two ways to reach your lists; via the profile drop-down menu in the top navigation bar or by going to your profile page and clicking the Lists tab.
2. Click Create list.
3. Enter the name of your list (the title of your list cannot exceed 25 characters), a short description of the list, and select whether you want the list to be private or public.
4. Click Save list.

Public vs Private List: With a private list, you’ll be the only person who can see and access the list. Whereas a public list is just that, anyone view and subscribe to the list.

How to Make a Twitter List

How to Add (and remove) People from Your Twitter Lists

• Click the person avatar which brings you to their profile. This brings up a drop-down menu.
• Select Add or remove from lists. You don’t need to be following a person to add them to a list.
• A pop-up will appear displaying your created lists. Check the lists you would like to add the user to, or uncheck the lists you’d like to remove the user from.

How to view Tweets from your Twitter Lists:

• Go to your profile page.
• Click the profile drop-down menu in the top navigation bar.
• Choose which list you’d like to view.
• Right away, you’ll see a stream of Tweets from the users included in that list.

8 Ways to Use Twitter Lists to Easily Engage & Boost Your Visibility

Here’s a few strategic ways to leverage the power of a list.

1. Thought Leaders – I love to share posts and tips from users I admire that can help my audience.
2. Business Partners – These come in many shapes and sizes: JV Partners, Affiliates, Co-Owners, Team Members and so on. Connecting with these partners and sharing content that compliments my expertise keeps engagement going between promotions.
3. Clients – I have a private list of my clients so I can watch their posts easily. This allows me to give congratulations, share their content, as well as provide any feedback I can to improve their Twitter marketing efforts.
4. Fellow Mastermind or Program Members – If you’re a member of a Mastermind consider making a list of your colleagues and enjoy supporting their endeavors!
5. Connect With – If you’re looking forward to meeting someone in person, or you’d like to interview them add them to a private group like this. You can see what they’re posting, what interests them and this allows you to best connect with them when the time comes.
6. Events – Whether you’re hosting or attending an event consider making a list of people you meet. I’ve found when meeting in person a strong connection is often created and I want to maintain the relationship virtually…that is until we meet in person again This is a great way to stay in touch!
7. Personal Interests – All those hobbies! This is a great way to keep everything in one tidy place.
8. Industry Research – See what others in your industry are up to and possibly find creative ways to work together.

One additional note, I will say I still enjoy browsing through my Twitter feed. I mean I did follow a bunch of people for a reason. So even when you create your lists be sure to hop over to your main feed to engage with more people.

Your turn, go forth… create one list and add a few people you would like to connect with more. Then check it daily and start having real conversions!

How do you keep up with the never-ending feed on Twitter? Let me know in the comments below and I’d love to see your smiling face over on Twitter! I look forward to Tweeting with you.

This post How to use Twitter Lists for Business appeared first on Erin Tillotson.

A signature is placed at the bottom of your emails. Most often people use this to simply to state their name and title. Think about the possibilities if you had an automated system to share your newest blog, your Facebook Page or current promotion. How could this impact your business?

Moral of the story, every business owner should have an email signature. And now it’s time to take it to the next level with an optimized, and preferably automated, solution that drives readers to your latest and greatest.

If not setup correctly your signature may be ignored completely! You’ve seen those signatures that could take up an entire web page on their own, ya we all skip those. The good news is you can avoid this with a great set up. I have a few general rules to follow when setting up your signature for best results:

• Keep it short, no more than 3 or 4 lines
• Give something of value, like your latest blog post
• Add your photo or a company logo
• Potentionally include a current promotion. I like to do this with a nice clickable graphic… nothing huge!

Don’t let your signature go stale. Keep it updated regularly – with promotions, seasons, events, new content – have fun. This is where a good graphic comes into play. If you make small, subtle changes it may go unnoticed. Now if you have a beautiful graphic (I love Canva to create graphics) that is distinctively different people will notice and they will want to see what you’re up to.

[Tweet “Keep it relevant. If your email signature goes stale no one will pay attention.”]

I use a simple tool to make all this email signature magic, it’s called WiseStamp. It’s very easy to use and works with many email platforms.

[Tweet “Create a repeatable signature so it’s added automatically for you. Less work, more results.”]

Every email you send can support your online business goals. You have the opportunity to get more visits to your latest blog posts, promotions, social media profiles and so much more with an easy 15 minute setup. Or better yet, have your VA set this up for you.

This is what I call an integrated strategy. It’s built into what you’re already doing. That’s what makes it so powerful. You don’t have to go out and spend weeks creating something new.

Drive traffic. Increase social following. Share the love. You’ve got this!

Let’s hear it. Do you leverage your email signature? What’s one thing you’d like to include in your email signature now? Share with me below, let’s talk about it

This post Grow Your Social Media Reach with Every Email You Send appeared first on Erin Tillotson.

Now wouldn’t it be great to log into your social media account spend 30 minutes really connecting with potential clients and partners? I’m going to share 5 foundations you can start putting into place today that will save you hours every week.

1. Delegate – there are definitely tasks you can outsource to a trained professional. You don’t want to outsource your personality of course. But consider tasks that need to be done, but not by you personally. Here’s a few ideas: weekly or monthly post scheduling, customer service questions to your profiles, JV or affiliate requests, posting events and inviting friends and fans, and inbox management. So you can still write the content and have the creativity you crave, and the technicial implementing can be done for you – saving you hours every week.
2. Boundaries – put in place specific rules for yourself (and your team if it applies). If you put some delegation into place be sure there are clear guidelines in place so both you and your team are clear on what needs to be handled and how it is to be handled so nothing falls between the cracks.

   What does that mean? If you have a professional scheduling your social media posts, have a process in place with clear to collaborate on the content. I personally love to use Google Docs for this piece.

   Perhaps your team is also handling customer service and inbox management; should requests be handled online or should the prospect be directed to email – or will it be a combo? In what cases should email be necessary? How often is your team to check your inbox for messages each week? Are they to forward them to you for review, or respond to some if possible and keep you in the loop with a weekly update?

3. Lists – create several lists for your accounts to save time everyday. While Facebook Friend Lists don’t exist anymore (BUMMER!), you can make it work in other ways. I personally have an event in my Google Calendar labeled Facebook and in the description of the event are links to pages and people that I want to regularly engage with. Even the Facebook Feed (AKA the algorithm) is out of our control, find other ways to achieve your goals.

   On Twitter you can have lists as well. I have both public and private Twitter Lists. Once you have the lists in place be sure to start using them. I save a TON of time by using these more often then scrolling down the live home feeds of each network.

   With Instagram you can use Collections to create the same grouping of accounts. You won’t get a feed of posts for each collection, but you will save a bunch of time by having all the people and business you want to connect with in one easy place.

   Here’s a few ideas to get you started with your own lists; thought leaders, close friends and family, joint venture partners, and possibly Facebook pages you want to closely follow.

4. Vetting – this is a big time saver for me. You don’t have to accept all friend requests or follow everyone that follows you. (Read that one again.)

   For your time and mental clarity only follow accounts that you want to see their content and keep in touch with. Your time is valuable, protect it my friend.

   So the next time you recieve a notification of a friend request or new follower – do not automatically hit the accept or follow button. Go to the profile and see who they are and what they’re interests are. If you have a mutul interest go forth, otherwise you do not have to accept or follow. This doesn’t make you a bad person, it doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. You’re not breaking some code of conduct – promise.

Start working on at least two of these items this week. And if you like the other ideas, block time on your calendar to work on them soon. Once you have these 4 foundations in place you will see time wasting dwindle down to almost nothing.

This post 4 Social Media Foundations for the Busy Entrepreneur appeared first on Erin Tillotson.

So here we go, a few must do’s to prepare for your newsletter.

How will you send your newsletter!?

(This one is for folks who don’t have a CRM yet.)
What system are you going to use for distributing your newsletter? When you’re searching for a provider for your business you may want to “date” a few before you commit. Most companies are offering a trial period for a low cost that will let you check out the inner workings.

I recommend you sign up for a few that you have been considering and play around with the system. One point of clarity… when I say ‘play around’ I mean open an account check out how everything works, setup an email, send and yourself a test. Also, check out the other features they have to offer. Can the system process orders and automatically follow up with your new customer? Can you segment your leads so you can communicate with them based on their interests.

I could go on and on here, but I want to be really clear – I’m not recomending you add contacts to the provider while you’re testing. Only upload contacts once you’ve made your final selection and you’re ready to make the commitment. Protecting your leads is priority number one!

I personally use Keap (previous called Infusionsoft). Some of my clients enjoy other systems such as Ontraport, Active Campaign, MailChimp just to name a few.

How do you want your newsletter to look?

I’m sure you’ve seen a wide range of ideas from businesses you follow. Some you love, some not so much.

What I recommend you do first is think about what fits you and your business. You are the person who is going to have to keep up with this every month…so be sure you love it!

Things to consider:

• Do you want a graphically banner at the top of your newsletter?
• Do you want to go more personal letter style and include graphics and photos as they fit the topics?
• Do you want to close with your signature image? Or just your typed name?
• Do you want sections in your newsletter? Will they be the same every time or will you change things up?

All of this matters as you’ll have to create graphics, or have them done for you, before you can push out your newsletter. Ever single one of my clients we’ve had to walk this process through, and I will tell you the end result is as unique as each of them are – and that’s on purpose. Create an experience your humans will love and that you’ll have fun preparing for them

How often do you want to send your newsletter?

Will you publish once a week, once a month or something different? Think about the amount of time this will take you to create. Be sure you can commit the time to creating quality content, setting it up and sending or working with your team to implement.

You don’t want frustrations to kick in and you give up on this new exciting thing for your business! This is also where an SOP (standard operating procedure) comes into play. Write out each step, or have your team help you with this. You want to create ease with a repeatable documented process so if you change team members they can step right in and take over with a clear understanding of all the steps.

Looking Ahead

Now you’ve worked out what you want to send and how often you’d like to publish – it’s time to make this a habit for success. Remember why you’re doing this… because there’s a few key reasons:

• Build a real relationship with a human on the otherside reading this thing
• Stay connected with them, without being pushy or overwhelming
• Create a streamlined, fun way to creatively express the message inside you
• And of course the obvious one, grow your business!

In order to do this you not only need to make space for creating this thing – but doing it with intention, and strategy. So put it on your calendar right away – for you and your team. Now look at everything else you have on the books coming up, events, joint ventures, launches, podcasts, blog posts, media appreances, etc. How can all of this work together to create a wonderful email ecosystem for your business and your prospects?

I little bit of pre-planning will serve you (and your nerves) greatly.

Make Space for Spontaneous Moments

Ah yes, don’t forget those times when you have a light bulb moment and have to share something with your humans. Your email template and SOP will shine here, so you can pop in a yummy message and send it off quickly! Simple, stress-free and easy… that’s what you’ll need

There you have it 5 key elements to consider preparing your newsletter. If you need help pulling it all together, let’s chat.

This post 5 Essentials to Preparing Your Newsletter appeared first on Erin Tillotson.

Complete Your Bio

When people check out your Twitter profile one of the 1st things they will look at is your bio. You want to be memorable and unique. Always have your most relevant website link as the URL. Last but not least, be sure to add a professional picture of yourself as well, nothing is worse than seeing a new follower with the “egg!”A few actions to avoid in your bio:

• Don’t stuff your bio exclusively with keywords. People cannot connect with just words. You want your personality to be present.
• Don’t use industry lingo. Use words and phrases that your target client or market uses.

Write Some Posts

Have at least 20 Tweets on your profile: With a full page of tweets people will know you are serious about twitter. They can get a feel for who you are, what you have to say and if you match what they are looking for. Offer some good content that will benefit your target market.

Branding (for the Win)

A Professional Background: This is a great way to increase brand awareness. Use your logo, tag line, photo and anything else that helps represent your business. Mari Smith is a great example of branding. She changes her background to support her current marketing plans.

Offer Up Something Sweet

Here is an opportunity to further connect with your new connection. Offer a great resource to them.

• Share a popular blog post. If one of your blog posts gained a high number of comments and social interactions it must have been extremely helpful to your audience. Share this with new connections!
• A free report. These are generally behind a lead generation form (opt-in form), where the visitor will enter their name and email address to receive your free gift.
• A Custom Welcome to Twitter Page: Setup a page on your website just for new followers. Have a nice introduction video with something they can walk away with, a tip or action step they can do right away.

This post 5 Things To Do When You Claim Your Twitter Profile appeared first on Erin Tillotson.

When should you engage or respond to a negative comment or post?
When the comment can potentially impact your reputation.

• A negative or inaccurate comment is posted online (ie: blog, forum or website).
• A misunderstanding happens about your products and/or services.

Your goal is to represent yourself positively. Add value, listen and respond to the allegation, complaint or concern. Simply communicate the accurate information, make the appropriate clarifications and redirect the negative overtone.

Attempt to take the conversation offline as soon as you can. Provide an email address or phone number where they can receive immediate attention. You don’t want other unnecessary posts, this will only increase the post’s search engine ranking.

A few steps to take:

First, research the comments to see if they have any merit. Has this happened before or this a one time occurrence? Check with your customer service, has this customer contacted your company yet? What has been done to date? Just take some time to look into the situation before you comment online.

Always take the higher ground. (Don’t criticize the other party) By doing so the matter will get resolved much quicker, in most cases.

Be honest, transparent and ready to listen. This is vital to resolving any misunderstanding.

Explain any measures that have been done to rectify an issues. This will assure the involved party that you have taken corrective measures on their behalf.

Rally client’s, colleagues and customers for additional support with allegations. Again, hopefully it does not come to this but if needed do your best to protect and represent your brand in the best way possible.

There you have it, a few things to keep in mind if the situation every comes around.

Do you have any other suggestions or steps to add? Please share them in the comments below.

This post Strategies for Engaging Negative Comments appeared first on Erin Tillotson.