Do you ever get the feeling that you’re not reaching your potential when it comes to getting things done? This can be especially difficult if you work from home.

 Instead of wishing for more hours in the day, the secret to increasing your productivity is not as elusive as you think. Here’s how you will not only find yourself getting a lot more done, but also feeling happier with the time you spend building your business.

1. Break Down Goals Into Milestones

Now that you have your goals, what do you do with them? Well, it’s time to break them down into actionable items. For instance, say your goal is to launch a new product.  Instead of looking at all of your tasks and getting overwhelmed break it down into workable chunks. In this case, some milestones might including writing your sales page, creating the product, hiring a web designer and so forth. Now you can tackle these pieces one at a time and break them down further until everything is checked off. Believe me, this will definitely increase your productivity. 

2. Manage Your Interruptions

No day goes by without the customary disturbances and interruptions. Doesn’t it seem that people have a sixth sense that makes them call, email, or text you just when you’re working on an extremely crucial task? My advice to you is to turn everything off when you’re working on your most important tasks. That means your phone, email, and (gasp) social media even!  Instead, assign 3-5, 15 minute chunks a day where you can deal with those typical interruptions.

3. Do Your Hardest Tasks First

This one’s a keeper. You’re most active and focused when you start working. This is the time to get all those tasks you’ve been dreading out of the way. Trust me, it’ll be faster and easier this way, when your brain isn’t already overloaded with other things you’ve done before. So get that proposal out, make those calls, write that guest post and check off that major thing off your list. Not only will you feel great but your other to-dos will seem like a piece of cake.

4. Reward Yourself

How are you rewarding yourself after a hard day’s work? My school of thought on this is to reward yourself every day! Yes, you read that right – EVERY SINGLE DAY. This doesn’t mean you have to go on a massive spending spree, a reward can be getting yourself your favorite drink at Starbucks, or giving yourself a nice luxurious bubble bath. Regardless of what you choose, make it juicy because that means you’ll have something to look forward to. One of my favorite rewards is a mid-day hike where I get to soak in incredible views.

5. Take A Nap

Naps aren’t just for pre-schoolers. Studies have shown that taking naps helps improve brain function. Taking a 10-15 minute power nap may be just what you need to feel refreshed. I love naps especially if I have something that’s stumping me, it helps clear my mind and I often wake up with new ideas.

6. Hire An Assistant

If you have a lot on your plate it might be time to get some outside help. If you’re thinking you can’t afford hiring an assistant consider hiring someone part-time or on a freelance basis. Now you can delegate tasks and be more productive.

7. Get An Accountability Partner

If you find yourself constantly missing deadlines it might be time to get an accountability partner. The takeaway here is to know yourself and take steps to prevent it in the future. This person can even be your assistant. It’s always been a huge help and motivator for me to have someone there to give me the necessary push when I need it.

8. Know Your Big Picture

You’ve been slaving away trying to get all your work done. Maybe along the way you’ve forgotten exactly why you’re doing it and that’s why you need a physical representation of your ‘big picture’. This can be an image, a quote, or even what your end goal is. Having an anchor will keep you focused and on track.

9. Don’t Work At Least One Day Of The Week

Burn-out is a fact and it happens to the best of us. My policy is no working on weekends. If having two days off isn’t an option do yourself a favor and take at least one day off. The best way to hate what you do is to do it all day every day, ALL the time. Taking a day off will clear your mind and keep you fresh.

10. Know When To Let Go

One way to increase your productivity is letting go. If you find yourself obsessing over every little detail, and wanting everything to be perfect you can be doing more harm than good. Part of being productive includes sharing your wonderful projects, services and products with the world. So stick to your deadlines and know when it’s time to let go.

It’s your turn. Which of these tips will you implement? Share with me in the comments below!

Before you go, if you liked this blog post, be sure to share it and sign up for our weekly Social Media Power Move – it’ll give you easy, actionable tips to help you build your online empire.

And of course, let’s connect Facebook and Twitter too!

Follow @

Did you know that your website has certain hot spots that can help you grow your email subscriber list?

Whether you’re a solopreneur running a business from your home office, or you’re an artist growing your brand, or have a growing small business building your email subscriber list is an essential part of your marketing strategy. Keep in mind that people who join your list are more Iikely to become customers, hire you, and support what you do. However, in order to grow your list you must have a website that converts regular and non-committal visitors into subscribers.

How can you do this?

Well, read on to find out how making minor tweaks to the 4 hot spots on your website can get you many more email subscribers.

 Hot Spot #1: Your Sidebar

Eye tracking studies, show that people read web content in an F-shaped pattern. This means they skim the top and then proceed downwards along the side bar. That’s where the sidebar opt-in comes in handy. Since we know your visitor’s attention will land on your sidebar it’s important that it stands out. Do this by keeping your sidebar clutter free. If you have a bunch of ads that lead visitors off your website, get rid of it. To make sure your sidebar opt-in is eye-catching, play around with your color palette and fonts. You can see from my own sidebar, (image below) I play around with font sizes and have a solid red line around it to bring attention to it.

Hot Spot #2: The Top Of Your Page

How important is it to be on top? According to research, 53 percent of clicks on search engine pages go to the top result. The principle is the same for your website. The top gets the most attention and that’s how HelloBar can help. HelloBar puts a bar/banner that appears at the top of your website and includes a call-to-action that you can design and customize according to your needs. In this case the call-to-action will be enticing people to join your mailing list. What I personally love about HelloBar is that it allows you to test two different bars and based on the results you’ll know which one got the most clicks.

Here’s a HelloBar banner I created:

Hot Spot #3: Your Homepage

Your homepage is usually the first touch point with any visitor and based on what you have there someone may continue or hit the “x” button, therefore, it’s essential that your homepage has a strong call-to-action. It also has to be done is a way that’s also simple and easy to understand.

MailChimp has a great call-to-action on its homepage. There’s a great image on the left, and on the right it tells you exactly why their visitors should sign up.

Hot Spot #4: The End Of Your Blog Posts

If a reader makes it all the way to the end of your blog post you can bet that that person may subscribe to your lift. That’s why you want to add a sign-up box after each and every blog post.

Here’s how Nisha Moodley from Fierce Fabulous and Free entices her readers to join her list:

And here’s how we do it:

Don’t miss this opportunity to convert reader into email subscribers so add that box and see your email subscribers rate increase. While you’re here sign up for our weekly Social Media Power Move – it’ll give you easy, actionable tips to help you build your online empire.

So, what’s your favorite hot spot? Share with me in the comments below!

Sharing is caring — click share and help your friends build their email subscriber list too!
And of course, let’s connect Facebook and Twitter too!

Follow @

A few weeks back, we covered how to successfully fund your next kickstarter or indiegogo campaign, so it’s time to dive into some common mistakes. As you know Kickstarter and Indiegogo are to crowdfunding what Facebook and Twitter are to the world of social media. For individuals and small businesses just starting out, crowdfunding a project can be an absolute game changer.

If you’re thinking of venturing out into this brave new world there are 7 mistakes that we’ve identified to avoid like the plague. Take a look and find out what not to do.

1. Focusing on Money and Failing to Engage

If you’ve taken the crowdfunding route and are trying to raise money through either Kickstarter or Indiegogo, chances are you’ve exhausted other more conventional means of finding capital. And while the point of these campaigns is obviously to raise some cash, and everyone realizes that, don’t make the mistake of keeping money as your overall strategy. Websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo connect you to the right people, your goal is to convince them to become backers. Focus on them. Engage them. Money will follow.

2. Ignoring Backers Once They’ve Paid Up

So you struck gold! You managed to get some backers on board, your idea is great and people seem to agree. You’re drowning under all the work that’s piled up, trying to keep up, while still trying to get new backers in the time you have left before your campaign ends. You decide to focus on new leads. Big mistake. Don’t ignore the supporters you’ve managed to gain. They liked and supported you from the beginning. How would it make you feel if you gave your money to a cause and the organizers never bothered to get back to you?

Remember that crowdfunding sites are another social community, these backers are regular people like you and me, chances are they’re keeping watch on your campaign. If you communicate regularly and build a relationship, they’ll actually LIKE you and hence be motivated to offer more support.

3. Asking Only Once

Everyone’s aware of social media and the power of the internet for any marketing campaign. But with so many messages fighting for our attention, once may not be enough to catch the attention of most people. So send out multiple emails if you’re running an email campaign but space them out so you don’t become a nuisance. If someone gets to your page through an ad, take them to your landing page. Once they’re interested enough to ask for updates, send them an email.

Create buzz at the beginning and right before the end of your campaign. Create a sense of urgency that’s usually associated with crowdfunding projects. Get on social media, news media, just get your message out. Be the voice they can’t ignore, and keep asking.

4. Thinking You’re Talking To a Crowd

Don’t be fooled by the ‘crowd’ in crowdfunding. No one likes mass messages for the simple reason that people want to be feel special. If you’re asking for someone’s help, the least you can do is ask personally. Tailor your message to a specific person. Yes we know you have different types of backers but creating a profile for who you’re talking to will bring in more supporters in the end. What is your ideal backer’s interests? What does he/she stand for? Your job is to custom tailor messages that convey that you’re actually talking to each individual separately.

5. Not Explaining Why

Consider this, just a few days into the launch of your Kickstarter or Indiegogo project, you’re bombarded with questions. This is not good news. This just means you’ve failed in getting your message across to most people who’ve come across your campaign. You had one chance to convince them but since your message wasn’t clear enough, that chance is now gone. First impressions are lasting, and once that boat has sailed you’re going to be left with just another unsuccessful project. So explain why. Why should anyone bother to give money to support your project? What sets you apart from others? What are some questions that you anticipate getting. Make sure to answer them in your campaign description or even create an FAQ section. You want to make your backers feel at ease and being crystal clear is one way to ensure that.

6. Failing to Plan Fundraising Goals

Are you being too ambitious or not ambitious enough? The key is to strike a balance. How, you may ask. Well, there’s no recipe for this, but start off with an estimate of the minimum figure that would get you what you need. Keeping a buffer of 10-20% might be a good idea. If you have a ridiculous figure, no one will believe in the possibility of your project and won’t waste their backing on you. Settle on a reasonable amount that everyone can get on board with.

7. No One’s Ever Heard of You

Do people know you? Do they like you? Do they trust you? These are three key questions you should ask yourself. If you don’t have much a network, don’t give up –  a good idea to do this is associating with other known people, brands and organizations. Reaching out to influencers in your niche may sound like a cliche but they have a reach you don’t. Leverage your networks and get the word out!

Were any of these mistakes eye-openers? What other mistakes have you come across when it comes to crowdfunding? Share with me in the comments!

Before you go, if you liked this blog post, be sure to share it and sign up for our weekly Social Media Power Move – it’ll give you easy, actionable tips to help you build your online empire.

And of course, let’s connect Facebook and Twitter too!

Follow @

Photo Courtesy: Bizme

Some big changes are coming to the Facebook newsfeed, so it’s important to know how they are going to affect your business. Whether you run a small business, are an artist or a solopreneur; if you have a Facebook page it’s time to get prepared.

So why the change? According to Facebook founder Mark Zukerberg, many people (maybe you’re one of them) have complained that the current newsfeed has become cluttered and overwhelming. The new changes will make Facebook more visual. Also, how stories are displayed on newsfeeds to take care of the clutter problem and get a more appealing look.

Here’s the rundown on what you need to know and how you can capitalize on them.

Multiple Newsfeeds Are In

The newsfeed will now feature multiple news feeds that will allow users to get more in-depth with content. Each of the feeds will highlight photos, music news like what’s trending among friends and which celebrities and pages they’re following.

What this means for you? Since there are more newsfeeds, that means the importance of having have engaging content just went way up. The users now have more control than ever. The good news is this can help you if you’ve built up some loyalty with your fans and following in the past and people choose to follow what you put out there.

Check out the new All Friends feed below.

Images Just Got Bigger

The fact is crowdfunding has opened up a whole new horizon for people everywhere! Right now everyone’s talking about the Veronica Mars movie project that has raised over $4.4 million on Kickstarter so far. Although this project is the hot topic of the moment, everyone from artists to small business owners have been using crowdfunding to raise money for their ideas, but unfortunately not everyone is so successful.

Have a great business idea? Planning to write that book but you keep getting those disheartening rejections from publishers? What about that great film idea no producer will touch? Well then, crowdfunding might be the answer to your prayers. Gone are the days when, no matter how great your idea was, it went into the waste bin just because it didn’t make ‘sound business sense’ to the higher ups at a venture capital firm.

If you’re not very tech savvy or just not keeping up with recent updates, crowdfunding is simply a way of funding your project in such a way where anyone, people like you and me, can fund any of different projects with their own money.  Crowdfunding has been facilitated by the creation of different websites, two of which have risen to the forefront in the past couple of years. Kickstarter and Indiegogo are just two of many you can use for funding your project, but more on that later.

Once you’ve made the decision to go this route, don’t think the work is done. This is just the beginning. Never fear though, we are here to guide you in your journey to crowdfunding success!

Here’s how to successfully fund your next Kickstarter or Indiegogo project.

Do Your Homework

There’s an old proverb, “Do not leave today’s homework for tomorrow.” This really sums up the importance of informing yourself and doing some research today, this very moment. Don’t go in blindly. Arm yourself with facts and figures. Go over some wildly successful crowdfunded projects on both Kickstarter and Indiegogo. What was it about them that caught the fancy of people around the globe? Make sure to browse through some successful campaigns in your category.

Besides doing recon on other projects, you can thank your lucky stars Kickstarter has started publishing stats since 2012. For example, this might help you along when setting a budget for your project: among successful projects, most raise between $1,000 and $9,999.

It’s not just business ideas that can funded, Indiegogo specializes in funding personal projects such as charity campaigns.

Identify Your Audience

Once you have some information and a game plan for your campaign, you might be congratulating yourself on a job well done and enjoying a pleasant haze of happiness. Well the work isn’t over yet. Ask yourself these very important questions:  Who’s your audience? What’s really in it for them? A good idea would be initially reach out to email lists of targeted investors instead of shooting in the dark and hoping for the best. If it’s a book you’re funding, start looking for people who would actually be interested in reading that book. Funding a charity? Get on some blogs related to that area. The internet brings together people with similar ideas and opinions together on many mediums such as blogs, websites, chatrooms and other forms of social media so make use of that!

Show, Don’t Tell

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine how many words a video is worth. Create a clear, compelling and persuasive video that gets your message across instead of just writing down some things about your campaign. Think of your video like a mini elevator pitch. Be sure to define multiple levels of investment with different privileges for each level. Emphasize the importance of the success of your project e.g. funding a film that’s getting a message out there on a social cause that needs to be heard.

Create A Promotion Strategy

Have a strategy in place for promotions. It’s not much different from promoting your website or anything else online. Generate some buzz; if you lack the expertise then you may want to think about hiring an expert. However, the latter may require a cost benefit analysis and only you can judge that. Combine word of mouth using your friend and family networks as well as online mediums such as blogs, guest posts, etc.

So have you ever used a site like Kickstarter or Indiegogo to crowdfund? What other tips do you have for running a successful campaign? Share with me in the comments!

Before you go, if you liked this blog post, be sure to share it and sign up for our weekly Social Media Power Move – it’ll give you easy, actionable tips to help you build your online empire.

Let’s connect Facebook and Twitter too!

Follow @ThereseCator

Photo Credit: James Cridland

Selling is a natural part of life so why is it that so many people hate doing it? Actually, hate is probably the wrong word in that sentence. They fear selling.

But you know, if you get even slightly better at selling, you’ll see that there’s nothing to fear and that’ll make you want to do it more. Twitter is a great place to sell, too… as long as you’re not too salesy about it.

First, you’ve got to network on Twitter and build a relationship with your audience. Then, you can start selling on Twitter – read on for some tips.

Give It Away!

One sure way to raise some buzz about your product or services is to give it away! And to add a cherry on top, Twitter (unlike Facebook) doesn’t have complicated rules about giveaways. People have to follow the general guidelines that Twitter has established (e.g., not duplicating tweets, no creating multiple accounts).

So the first thing is to figure out exactly what product/service to give away. Think of your most popular product or service and give that away. Make the giveaway short and sweet – one week is usually more than enough time for people to enter.

Think about what you want to achieve from this giveaway – if your main goal is selling more product and services, increasing your Twitter followers can help you do that in the end. So with that in mind, figure out how to get people to enter, whether it’s to follow your Twitter account, mention you in a tweet, use a hashtag, or retweet a certain message you tweet.

Giving away key content will raise awareness of you and your product to the people who would most likely use it!

Special Offers Only on Twitter

Did you know that Dell offers Twitter-only deals on its computers? It’s true! They have 1.4 million followers on their @DellOutlet account. So just like some other Twitter tips swiped from big companies, you can use this one to your advantage as a small business owner or brand.

Why not offer Twitter-only deals? A really juicy discount will not only get you more sales, but also will get you more followers. People always are looking for a good deal. The key to using this tactic is giving them something to stick around for, not just for the awesome deal.

Ask For Twitter Testimonials

If you’ve got a newsletter or even just an email list of valued clients, don’t let it just sit there. Encourage your fans to write testimonials about you and your business/brand on Twitter.

You can send an email asking them to write a 140-character Twitter testimonial by using a Click To Tweet link in your email. Go ahead, click the link – see what happens!

Then, favorite those tweets and make sure they spread! You can set up a Twitter feed on your website or blog sidebar that will show those favorited testimonial tweets so your site visitors can see how much your followers love you and why they’d want to work with you.

What do you think? Are you going to give selling on Twitter a shot? Share in the comments below!

If you’re digging this post, don’t forget to sign up for our weekly Social Media Power Move™ – it comes out every Thursday and it’s quick and easy!

If you want to stay updated on all that’s going on, let’s connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Follow @ThereseCator

Big brands and businesses were once small fry like everyone else, but they built their way up to become leaders of the pack. Since they’ve been through it before and came out ahead, you can use these 4 examples of how big companies are rocking Twitter to your advantage. I even list 4 companies you can use as your model to follow for each of these tips.

Even though they’re big companies, that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from them and twist the lesson to fit a small business or brand.  And if you’re looking for more tips on using Twitter, check out 5 easy ways to network on Twitter. Now on to the 4 tips from big companies!

#1 Make News/Events Relatable to Your Brand

You’ve got your own twist on life, that’s for sure! But are you using that perspective on Twitter? You should be! Your followers will appreciate your unique insights on news or current events. After all, they can get the straight news from a reliable news source like CNN.

That’s why you want to differentiate yourself with your OWN voice! One company that you can look to for inspiration on using their own voice and twisting current events to their advantage is Oreo cookie. Yep, America’s favorite cookie has got it goin’ on on Twitter.

During the Superbowl, they boosted their engagement by quickly tweeting this photo tweet in response to the power failure during the game. People loved it!

#2 Tweet What You Know

Whole Foods, for example, tweets about food – recipes, tips, answers to customer questions, and weekly chats about menu planning. And quite rightly so! If Whole Foods started tweeting about politics or power tools, there’d be lots of confusion among its followers. Here’s a sample of their tweets (make sure to check out those yummy kiwi popsicles on the left):

Same goes for you – if you start tweeting about something you have no idea about, what makes you think people are 1) going to believe you or 2) follow you? Think about what types of tweets work best for your brand or small business.

If you’re running a yoga studio, health, wellness, meditation, yoga poses, and positive thinking could all be great themes for you. If your business involves knitted items, potential tweets for you would be knitted patterns, knitting how-to’s, recipes for sweets (generally, those interested in crafts love a good baked dessert), and knitting tips.

I’ve said this before, but it’s so true: being genuine is the key to getting followers on Twitter. And you’ll know when you’re not faking it because the topics that best fit your brand or business will be easy to tweet about!

#3 Being On Twitter Isn’t Just a Daytime Gig

Lots of companies (including Best Buy and Southwest) monitor their Twitter accounts after the typical workday/workweek has ended. They do that because they know that people are on Twitter at all times of the day or night. This tweet is from 5:20 am!

Now, you probably won’t have lots of urgent customer service requests after hours, but if you’re not on in the evening, you’ll miss key engagement time with potential clients or customers. So get into the mind frame of your clients and think about when you would be on Twitter if you were them.

Tweet at that time and be ready to respond to them real-time. Of course, you don’t have to respond to every tweet you get after hours (especially those that come in at 1 or 2 am), but you should make yourself available at decent hours in the evening and on the weekends.

#4 Your Followers Don’t Care About You

Well, that title is a misnomer – of course, they care about you. But it’s like if you were at a real-life party and you met someone who only talked about himself or about how great his business is. I guarantee you within a few minutes you’d be looking for some sort of excuse to get as far away from that person as possible.

It’s the same with Twitter. You won’t get more followers by talking about your business or brand 24/7. You’ll get more followers by appealing to them and their interests. Sure, they’ll want to hear about your business or brand, but remember to keep the focus on them.

Your tweets should be interesting and helpful for your followers. Let’s take Zappos for example. They’ve got 5 different Twitter accounts focusing on everything from styling advice to couture to customer service. They’ve done this so that customers can decide what they want to see the most. And each of those accounts posts updates that are interesting and relevant to that type of user.

Zappos knows that if it posts about every new item that arrives on the Zappos site, it’s not going to have many followers. So it posts about its items in fun ways that will attract attention. Look at this fun Instagram photo they tweeted about #ManiMonday:

Now that you’ve swiped these Twitter tips, tell us in the comments which one you’re going to put into practice!

If you liked this blog post, stay updated with our weekly newsletter with Social Media Power Move™ – they’re quick and easy to put into action!

Don’t forget to find us on Facebook and Twitter! We love chatting to new fans!

Follow @ThereseCator

Networking on Twitter can be easy, yet thousands of people let opportunities to connect with influencers in their fields or potential clients slip away. That could mean gigs, partnerships, or paychecks GONE!

Don’t let that happen to you – check out our 5 easy ways you can network on Twitter and get out there! Also, grab these 4 Twitter tips from big companies.

1. Find People You Want to Meet

Networking won’t work if you don’t know who to network with in the first place. Think about the people you’d want to meet in person, whether your list will include general types such as CEOs of other local small businesses or Richard Branson himself. List as many different types of people or actual people as you can.

Now comes time to search for these people! Not all of them will be on Twitter (their loss!), but you will find many of them that are or you’ll find new people to interact with based on what you list. When you search on Twitter, be specific.

For example, if you’re looking for real estate companies in Boston, type in “real estate Boston” in the search field. Before you simply click the follow button, take a look at their profile and their tweets. Their bio will tell you a lot, but so will their tweets and their profile picture. If they have no tweets or no profile picture, don’t follow them – that means they’re not active on Twitter.

Once you start following people, you’ll notice similar folks will show up in your Who to Follow section. This is a great, easy way to find more people to follow. The one thing you want to be careful of is to follow too many people. That will throw your follower to following ratio out of whack and is a sure sign to others that you’re either 1) a spammer or 2) not someone they’d want to follow back.

Another way to find similar people to network with on Twitter is to pay attention to who the people you want to network with are putting on their Follow Friday tweets. Those people might be great to network with and could get you in with the person you want to network with once they get to know you.

The basic piece of advice for networking on Twitter (as well as networking in real-life) is that you never know who you’re going to meet. So stay open-minded!

2. Retweet People’s Tweets

How would you feel if someone on Twitter retweeted your latest blog post? It’s a huge ego boost, for sure! You want to give your network targets that ego boost as much as possible.

There are a couple different ways you can retweet content. First, there is now a native retweet button that lets you leave the tweet as is and sends it out to your followers that way. This is great if you’re in a hurry and like someone’s content enough to retweet it, but it doesn’t go a long way to building a relationship with them.

Another way to retweet is to add in the old school “RT@username” into your tweet to give credit to that person for the original tweet. It’s a great way to give a nod to that person for the content share.

If you want to retweet, but also explicitly thank the person for the original tweet, you can do so by adding a simple “thank you @username.” They’ll surely feel the love from that.

3. @Reply to Connect

Another way to build that relationship is to @reply to people on Twitter. If you see someone’s tweet that you like, comment on it with an @reply.

For example, a @reply would look like this: “@Mashable Not a lot of people know you can use social media to network.”

It’ll show them that you’re following what they’re saying closely and want to be part of their network. And it’ll encourage a conversation with them.

The one thing about a @reply is that your followers will not see it. After all, how annoying would it be to always see only one side of a conversation if the person doesn’t follow the person you’re replying to? So there’s a good reason for that. But if you do think you have something amazing to say in a @reply that you want your followers to see, the trick is to put a period before the @reply and then write the rest of the tweet. Then, your fans will be able to see that @reply tweet, too.

4. Engage With Questions

This is a two-way street: you can ask questions and engage your contacts by answering their questions. People love to open up about themselves and also love someone who can be helpful to them with answers.

Maybe you could use advice about a certain service or you want to get other’s opinions about your website. You may want to wait on this tactic until you have active followers, but it’s also a great way to get others’ opinions who might not be engaged with you on Twitter yet.

And if others ask questions where you can show your expertise (without bragging or appearing like a know-it-all), take advantage of that opportunity! Answering their questions is a great chance to provide them with helpful advice or answers.

5. Be A Connector

As you are on Twitter more often, you’ll start to notice people who are really interesting. Showcase those people in a #FollowFriday tweet. It all goes back to helping others.

Pick 1-4 people who you admire and think that others should follow. Add a short message about why people should follow them to make it more persuasive. And that’s it! You’ve got yourself a great opportunity there to help others connect with those you find fascinating.

Another way to connect different people is to introduce two contacts via Twitter. If you think of two people who should know each other, introduce them by using their usernames in the same intro tweet. Of course, be sure to tell them why you think they’d benefit from getting to know one another.

Lastly, share! Share articles from people you like to read through retweets or through your own tweets with their links. They’ll love to see a strong supporter of their work!

So… what tips are you going to put into practice on Twitter? Tell us in the comments below!

If you liked this post, sign up for our weekly newsletter with Social Media Power Move™ – you’ll love how quick and easy they are to put into action!

Connect with us on Facebook or Twitter – I’d love to chat!

Follow @ThereseCator

“Oh, let me just check my email one more time; then, I’ll start that hard project I’ve been procrastinating.”

We all know what happens there – one email can distract you for half an hour. By then, you’ve forgotten your goal to start that project and are on to something completely different.

If this is your daily life, you’ve got to say enough is enough to procrastination. In this day and age of instant gratification and constant entertainment at our fingertips, it can be even harder to sit down and focus on what we NEED to get done for our small businesses and artistic projects.

But no more! Take these tips on how to stop procrastinating and boost your productivity in your daily life.

Break Up Your To-Do List

The way you write your to-do list could be a big part of the problem. If you tend to put down big projects as a whole, you’ve got it all wrong.

One of the best ways to motivate yourself and get out of the procrastination mode is to break up your larger tasks into smaller ones. I like to list the big project as a heading and then the tasks that make up the big project as sub-headings in the order they’d need to get done. This allows you to flow from one sub-task to the next until… voila! Your big, overwhelming project is ALL done!

It’s a bit like the mentality “don’t break off more than you can chew.” You’ll be much more productive at the end of the day because of it.

And while you’re revamping your to-do list, start writing down specific deadlines for each part of the project and the project as a whole. This has a lot to do with time management so check out this technique for time management.

When you create your deadlines, make them realistic, but also push yourself with your deadlines. How great will you feel if you get a project done ahead of time?

Create A Zen Workspace

If you regularly find yourself curling up into your comfy chair with your laptop, stop right there! Not only is that a huge cause of back issues, but also you’ll feel like you can slack off more if you’re overly comfy.

Set up your workspace to be a professional space that you won’t get distracted in. This might mean clearing your desk of clutter or putting your distracting internet bookmarks into a folder, not on the bookmarks bar.

Also, if you know your workspace once did wonders for you, but now makes you feel distracted, you might be too comfortable with your space. Change it up! Turn your desk around or try to work in another space to get a different perspective and get your working mojo flowing again.

Start With Your Hardest Tasks

Let’s think about your typical day – you wake up refreshed and ready to work. By noontime, you’re anxious for lunch. After lunch, you’re zapped of energy while your stomach is digesting. And towards the end of the day, you’re thinking about what to make for dinner.

So why would you leave your toughest, most procrastination-worthy tasks to do later rather than sooner? It makes no sense. If you’re normally fidgety or tired in the afternoon, but energetic in the morning, line up your toughest tasks for the morning. Work with your body’s natural energy flow, not against it. Once you finish those hard tasks, the easy ones will be no problem.

If you’re feeling game to try anything to get rid of your procrastination, separate your morning and afternoon tasks. That’s right – keep the hardest tasks in the morning. Then, after lunch, re-evaluate your tasks and make sure you know which ones are a priority. Those can’t and shouldn’t be put off.

But the good news is that once you’re done with those high-priority tasks, you’ve got the easy ones to look forward to.

Disconnect From Social Media And Email

Of course, I’m not going to tell you to drop social media or email totally. But if you have a huge deadline looming, tune out for your own good. Check emails only a few times a day, rather than a few times per hour. Set a time limit on how long you’ll spend on social media. You’ll be more focused when email and social media updates don’t distract you all the time.

Besides social media and email, what else do you allow to distract you from your work? It might be your favorite app, your local newspaper, or chatting with a friend on Facebook. Distractions sometimes are good – they give you a break to clear your mind and let you come back to your work refocused. But if you find you’re allowing yourself more of these little breaks than you really need, it’s time to take your distraction away.

Keep that distraction as a special treat for when you finish a difficult task that you’ve been putting off. But monitor your time so it doesn’t become a procrastination problem again.

So, what’s your biggest distraction while you’re working? Share with me in the comments!

If you liked this post, sign up for our weekly newsletter with Social Media Power Move™ – you’ll love how quick and easy they are to put into action!

Connect with us on Facebook or Twitter – I’d love to chat!

Follow @ThereseCator

Photo credit: Rennett Stowe on flickr.

People often get caught up in little dramas and they’re pointless. Most times all that drama starts with one person taking something personally.

All that does is distract you from your goals, aspirations, and in your case, building your business. And that negativity can wear you down and make you feel less confident. Trust me, you’ll need that confidence to build a successful business!

So the next time you feel like your hackles start to stand on end (figuratively, of course) because of something someone else did or said, take these steps to free yourself!

Know You’re In Power

At the end of the day, only you have power over yourself or your actions. If a friend or colleague jokes about something you feel insecure about and you take it to heart, you’re allowing that person to have power over how you feel and act.

The more you let someone else take charge of who you are or how you act, the more you will be held back. You’ve got to know deep down that only you can control your life.

Don’t Jump to Conclusions

When someone makes a casual comment or joke about you/your personality/style/whatever, you can either read into that comment or just let it slide right off you. These are your two choices.

Before you jump to conclusions and read too much into whatever was said, think about whether the person even meant it in how you perceived the comment. If you look at it from their perspective, you’ll most likely find that you probably are creating a mountain out of nothing.

When in Doubt, ASK

If you’re upset by what someone said or did to you, it’s best to just get it out of the way and ASK them what they meant. Often times, people don’t realize how what they’ve said can affect another person.

If they did mean to make that comment, ask them for their honest feedback and constructive criticism while you’re cool, calm, and collected. There’s no use in asking for feedback if you’re not in a good place to listen to it.

Take the Good; Chuck the Rest

If that person did mean what they said to you, it’ll be good for you to listen to them. But take what they tell you with a grain of salt. For example, someone might think you’re being pushy when you see it as being assertive.

It’s perfectly fine to have a different opinion from that person. After all, you’re the only one in control of yourself, your emotions, and your actions. When someone gives you feedback, he/she is giving you his/her opinion of yourself, but it’s tainted by his/her own insecurities, doubts, and perspectives. People have plenty of motives for saying or doing what they do so keep that in mind. Some of what he/she says might not even really be about you.

If you think there’s truth to what the person said, then go ahead and change yourself. But if you think his or her thoughts about you are wrong, then keep going the way you’ve been going. We’re often our worst critics so there’s no need to pile on more criticism.

Surround Yourself with Supportive People

If you feel like all your friends do is criticize you, the best way to stop taking things personally is by finding new, more supportive friends to hang out with. There are over 7 billion people on this planet – I’m sure there are more supportive people out there.

I’m not saying ditch your friends when they say something negative about you, but definitely look at whether they’ve been supportive and positive in the past. If this is a recurring theme in your relationship and you are not displaying destructive behavior, then it may be time to expand your circle or move on.

Focus On Where You’re Going

Another trick you can try to not take things personally is to simply focus on your end goal. Everyday you’re getting closer to the person you want to become.

You need all your energy for that. Save it up by not worrying so much about what others think. Repeat your goal like a mantra the next time someone says or does something that hurts you. It’ll wipe away all the negativity, for sure.

Are you working on not taking things personally? Let me know your best tips in the comments below!

If you liked this post, sign up for our weekly newsletter with Social Media Power Move™ – they’re quick and easy to put into action!

Connect with us on Facebook or Twitter – I’d love to chat!

Follow @ThereseCator