I found myself derailed recently when twice in one week I had unexpected critiques of two different videos on a page I had posted. The criticism wasn’t requested, came from a virtual “friend” on Facebook and from a “follower” on Twitter, and ironically had nothing to do with the page (in fact that was praised.) I felt truly slammed.

Video is a challenging medium for me. I grew up with a mother in front of the camera; a mother who hyper-criticized her own performances. And her performances were professionally directed, scripted, and filmed, not the rank amateur job I was doing on a flip camera.

I’ve learned from the online video guys like Lou Bortone and Perry Lawrence, that it’s about being yourself, not being perfect, and just getting it out there. I’ve been working on that so you may imagine (and struggle with the same challenges) that being told:

• my background wasn’t professional (was it supposed to be? I wasn’t in a studio)
• I was too close (geez, my arms aren’t long enough and a flip doesn’t have a remote)
• To shoot in the daytime (well it was 10am and I had great light)

really sent me reeling.

I know, I know I might seem like I’m one tough cookie, but I’ve got a marshmallow center and this created a meltdown. Fortunately I called an online colleague and friend and he brought me back to earth with very sage advice.

There are five simple questions to check the relevancy of any criticism. Don’t get derailed like I did, instead take a look at the questions here so you can vet the next round of criticism you may receive uninvited on a video, copy, ezine, teleseminar or other public work you share. Be selective in WHO you listen to and pay attention to. (I know this sounds obvious, but I missed it!)

1. Are they your target market?
2. Do they know your goals?
3. Are they qualified? (How much do they know about what they are criticisizing?)
4. Do they truly have your best interests at heart?
5. Are they providing valued options to improve (or just slamming?)

It is easy to be a critic, before you do next time, ask if the person wants feedback and be sure you can provide it in a way that is constructive, not destructive. Learn about their goals, be sure you are qualified, and make sure you can make solid suggestions for improvement. If you miss any of these pieces, it is best not to share your thoughts.

Sometimes it really is better to be kind than to be right and there are often ways to do both!

More recently, I’ve lived in the South for over two decades and I have to say that the abbreviations I’ve picked up and the colloquialisms I’ve learned make tweeting easier. I’m going to share some of my favorites here and betting you’ll find yourself using them to empower your tweets (and who knows maybe your regular conversation.)

Y’all (You All)
This just makes sense as a contraction. It is friendly, welcoming and works for men, women and a mixed crowd. It saves just a character and invites and engages.

Yonto/Yon2 (Do You Want to)
Okay, now I know this is a reach but trust me on Twitter most folks eliminate just vowels for abbreviations and Southern colloquialisms allow you to negate consonants too. While it is entirely grammatically incorrect, it is tweet worthy and most will understand what you mean.

Fixin To/Fixin2 (Going To)
Normally you’d ditch an extra set of characters like this entirely on Twitter, but including this adds a real flavor and relaxed feeling to your tweet.

Yonder (Over There)
Another colorful contraction of unnecessary letters that gets the point across succinctly.

Arn (Iron); Tar (Tire); Draw (Drawer); Hart (Heart)
Occasionally these can prove a bit confusing to non-Southerners but are certainly effective in eliminating a clearly useless extra and usually silent character. Baffle your non-Southern friends with these and others you can apply the same grammatical illogicalness to.

Haa (Hello, How are you) and Baa (Good Bye)
Clearly these are big character savers, and add a distinct drawl to your tweets. The only danger is that they may be construed as either foreign words or animal sounds (a crow and a sheep respectively.)

Mornin/Naat (Good Morning/Good Night)
More great character saving abbreviations that my mother would have cringed at. I can still here her voice on the phone when I’d drop my g’s (I was born and raised on the West Coast and we did a lot of “runnin, comin, goin, doin.” )

For more tips on mastering Twitter, knowing what to Tweet and growing your Twitter flock, head on over to www.superchargesuccess.com. Oh and if you’ve got great abbreviated words you want to share, please leave them in the comments with what they mean and an example of how to use them.

The Single Most Important Question YOU Must Answer to Succeed in Business
 

5 Strategies to Improve YOUR Visibility, Credibility and Profitability
 

Taking Action isn’t Enough, What YOU Can Do to Guarantee Marketing Success
 

The Definition of a Successful Business (it’s not what you think) and How to Have One
 

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Hi! I’m excited that you’re here and want to welcome you! Go inside (just click here for your VIP entrance) and you’ll find just who you need for a great company or consumer event. There are keynote presentation options, super sales training, and even creative consulting and mentoring. Everything I do is designed to move your business forward simply and profitably.

Marketing is the cornerstone of every successful business today and yet it can be overwhelming and sometimes compared to chewing foil! Let me change that, now go inside . . .

#1 Sleep In
That means skip the alarm clock and get up whenever it feels right to you. For some this will be 8am for others it might be noon. There is no magical time except the time that best suits you. The beauty is you aren’t being jarred awake by an obnoxious buzzer or heavy metal. And it might even give you and your spouse or significant other a bit of time for romance.

#2 Indulge in a Technology Free Day
Yes, that means staying offline entirely and when you can stand it, turning off your cell phone. Not long ago when we all had rotary dial phones and couldn’t take it with us wherever we went, we actually missed a call or three and called back when we wanted to or chose to. Try reclaiming your life from the ring, clang and chime of the electronic world, you’ll be surprised at how relaxing it can be.

#3 Read a Book (not a Kindle, remember you are Technology Free)
There is something rewarding about holding an actual book in your hands, turning the pages and reading words printed on a page instead of glowing on a screen. Make it a book for fun, not work. Maybe your taste runs to a light comedy, a mystery thriller, or a scifi adventure, you can choose one that is a tried and true favorite or hot off the bestseller list.

#4 Go to a Movie (no watching at home, that’s Technology)
It’s old fashioned and will cost you a few bucks, but there is nothing better than seeing a movie on the truly big screen, the smell of popcorn, surrounded by friendly strangers also there to be entertained, engaged, and distracted. Embrace the distraction, stock up on snacks and that ridiculously huge soda at the concession stand and relax and enjoy.

#5 Watch the Sunset
It doesn’t matter what the weather is or where you live, sooner or later the sun is going to go down (okay I suppose if it’s Alaska depending on the time of year, but let’s not get technical here!) Watch it. Just sit quietly outside or inside and watch the color of the sky change, watch dusk descend, and feel the shift in your own energy. You may come to life if you’re a night owl, or you may feel like slowing down if you are an early bird. This is just a chance to enjoy Mother Nature in any season and to become more aware of time and how very precious it really is.

That’s it, just five uncomplicated, unplugged ways to enjoy a Saturday or any day you decide to call a Saturday! And remember, I look genuinely forward to learning of your favorite ways to relax and unwind.

#2 PERMISSION BASED
Online marketing is permission based, that means that you have your prospects and clients express permission to send them information, promotions, updates, events, specials, trends, education, and a lot more. You are not spamming, you are invited. Take your invitation to the next level, http://www.budurl.com/findclients

#3 GIVES YOU EXPERT STATUS
When you educate your clients online through your blog, your ezine, your articles, you are instantly accepted and viewed as the expert. You are their go-to-guru in your niche, your industry, your specialty. And you don’t even have to create you own content, instead you can be their expert filter or curator as they can’t possible see and read everything you can and you garner the reputation of bringing them the best of what is out in the wide world specific to your expertise. Claim your expert status, http://www.budurl.com/findclients

#4 EXPLODES YOUR VISIBILITY
Using online marketing will radically raise your visibility online as each piece of content that you share becomes searchable and serves to build your SEO. Each time you share a blog post, an ezine, a tweet, a facebook post, you add to what can be indexed about you and your business. Being strategic just makes sense. Get your plan for profits, http://www.budurl.com/findclients

#5 WORKS FOR YOU 24/7/365

Your online presence is available 24/7/365, it doesn’t take weekends, nights off, vacations, or holidays but you sure can. Your online marketing is working all the time so you don’t have to. It creates avenues to fill your profit pipeline with ideal clients even while you are sleeping. Want to save time and effort? http://www.budurl.com/findclients

#6 SAVES TIME
One of the real cornerstones about online marketing is the time saving convenience of repurposing your content into multiple formats to further share your expertise, establish your brand, and attract and capture your ideal clients. Create once and save tons of time with multiple formats. Broadcast your brilliance (and trust me, you are brilliant at what you do, never doubt.) http://www.budurl.com/findclients

#7 BE WHERE YOUR CLIENTS ARE LOOKING
Let’s face facts, today your clients (and prospects) are looking for you, your services and your products online. We don’t yellow page any longer, we google. We look for resources in Facebook and Twitter. We search article directories for expert knowledge. Be available to your clients where they are looking. They are looking online. Want help finding them? http://www.budurl.com/findclients

Your comments and feedback are welcome always. Have you got more reasons you want to share, please add them here.

The key is in knowing where they are looking so you can show up there simply and easily on a regular, consistent and persistent basis. Afterall the web makes it easy to be found 24/7 /365 days a year without taking calls at 11 pm or 2am! So here are five hot places to find your clients (places they are looking for you).

#1 Your Blog (and others when you guest post)
Your clients are looking for your expertise online and there is no better way to showcase that consistently and persistently than with your own blog. When you learn to leverage keywords, master the art of killer headlines, and provide value information they are looking for, you will become their resource of choice. Want to know more, get the free call http://budurl.com/findclients

#2 Your Ezine (and others when you share posts)
Today an ezine (electronic newsletter) isn’t just a one time send to your list. Instead you can tie it easily to the social networks to ensure it gets a lot more visibility and you can even list it in the Directory of Ezines, where clients are looking to find ezines on topics of interest with your expertise. Want to get the inside scoop, get the free call http://budurl.com/findclients

#3 Expert Articles (think www.ezinearticles.com)
In old school terms this would be like a client looking up a newspaper story, except today when they want expert knowledge one of the top resources they use article directories where you can put your expert content. The cool part about this is it can be the very same content you used in your blog post and in your ezine. Repurposing saves precious time. Want to learn more, get the free call http://budurl.com/findclients

#4 Online Forums
Forums are just another way for people in a specific industry or interest to get together and share their expertise, get answers to burning questions and meet top notch providers. You are one of those top notch providers so finding the right forums where your ideal client is looking for answers and your expertise is a hot way to garner new clients. Want to understand more, get the free call http://budurl.com/findclients

#5 Social Networks
Yes, it’s true with over 500 million on Facebook and 200 million on Twitter, do you really think that your ideal clients aren’t there? These are social networking platforms that have revolutionized how business is done and how consumers and businesses buy. Jumping on without a plan, without knowledge of these tools will just rob you of time and prove generally frustrating. With a strategy and a bit of knowledge you can easily target your ideal clients, attract and capture their business, and profit. Want to find out more, get the free call http://budurl.com/findclients

The bottom line is that your ideal clients are looking online for you and you have the choice to be easy to find or not. Leveraging the tools of a blog, an ezine, article marketing and more can be time effective and profitable when you have the right plan and winning strategy. Claim them on the call, http://budurl.com/findclients

Picture this if you will. A high end furniture showroom holds a grand re-opening coming out of a reorganization and launches with a party for interior designers, builders, and developers in Atlanta. The majority (90%) of the attendees are women and gay men. This is only important as it defines the market demographic. The average age of those attending is over forty and it is in a Southern traditional market.

The furniture showroom partners with a local society magazine publication who is known for their flash and sizzle approach and for showcasing local celebrities from the entertainment industry to lifestyle titans. They are also known for high end fashion spreads with scantily clad models, their demographic is 30-45 up and coming entrepreneurs, society mavens, and celebrities. Notice that the magazines demographic is not the same as that of the furniture store whose grand opening it is putting on. This mismatch matters.

Mistake #1 ~ Failing to Tap the Talent You Brought In

To the magazines credit they did get a local big name interior designer to do a book signing though I think that she would have delightedly done that for the showroom as that is a good fit for her. Sadly I didn’t notice a lot of sales going on, but then she was put just inside the very front entrance rather than located in the heart of the event with an opportunity to speak briefly about design, her latest collections, and share a nugget of wisdom or two with an interested crowd of colleagues and wannabes.

Mistake #2 ~ Failing to Have Food that is Bitesize, Easy to Eat, and All Ingredients Disclosed

Scattered throughout the furniture showroom were food stations, of course, and the appetizers were great, but far from bitesize or finger food. In a setting like that attendees are always a bit uncomfortable setting down plates and cups on fine furniture (limited tables tucked into a back area) and without the ability to use forks and knives (not provided) much of the delicious fare was untouchable. This was a bit frustrating, in addition there was the classic challenge of knowing what was in any given item and in this day and age of rampant food allergies, this is a critical.

Mistake #3 ~ Mismatching Your Message and Your Market

The food stations weren’t the only thing scattered throughout the showroom. In fact, on at least five of the elegant beds were twenty-something models dressed (hmm, that implies too much coverage) in scanty lingerie provided by a sponsor of the magazine. Remember my mention of the audience demographic? Models of that sort appeal to men at any age except that I’m betting some of the men in attendance had daughters their age and the whole thing was a bit awkward.

Mistake #4 ~ Hiring the Wrong Partner to Put on Your Event

I took pictures because to me it represented one of the biggest market/message mismatches I’ve seen at a live event in a long while. And it indicated a lack of awareness on the part of the magazine that this market isn’t a fit for that. When you partner in marketing, make sure you are both on the same page and understand clearly BOTH the market and the message.

Mistake #5 ~ Forgetting to Start the Sizzle Before You Get Inside

As a designer, I know that we love events with food, fanfare, and famous folks. I also know that we love jewelry, drinks, and great design. In over 15 years in business I have never seen scantily clad models in lingerie at a design event. Fashion absolutely, especially when it includes interior fabrics done up in creative ways or in historical dress, fun and fabulous. This didn’t work. And the attendance was less than half of what they’d planned and announced probably because when you drove up the place looked deserted since the valet took all cars either around back or next door despite there being plenty of spaces up front. There was nothing indicating a celebration or grand opening.

Do you want to ensure the success of your next event? Learn tried and true strategies for matching your message to your market and a lot more over at www.superchargesuccess.com. Avoid expensive marketing mistakes and master the art of leveraging social media.

Have you attended poorly organized events in your industry? Dish the details here!

#1 Sell Gold Jewelry
Now, I am not suggesting you use that company on TV that tells you to put it all in a bag and mail it off, are you crazy? Research a reputable local jeweler (preferably a wholesaler) and get an estimate from at least two to three before parting with any gold jewelry, coins or collectibles. Be smart and know that it can take anywhere from a day to a couple of weeks or more depending on what you have and whether there is more than just the value of the metals.

A reputable dealer will remove stones (often not worth much) or sell those separately if you want them to. This is a great way to ditch those old pieces you never wear and to find out if the pieces you have are worth anything. Gold jewelry styles do change year to year and definitely decade to decade, don’t be afraid to let a piece go that you don’t enjoy regardless of the sentimentality. It is stuff and the memories are far more important. (Besides think of it as the person it came from, if it was a gift, is providing for you now.)

#2 Consign Clothing
While normally I’d agree that this won’t get you much, but considering that we ladies have been known to buy on sale and often it is an outfit that fits only when five pounds lighter, I’m betting you might have an outfit or five. We’ve all done it; fallen into that trap of “it’s such a bargain,” only to find we never wear it. So give it up. Be ruthless, and make sure you have a good and trusted friend with you when you go through your closet. You might even have an item or two with the tag still on. (You know you do!)

Now if you really don’t have anything worth it in your closet, but you know designer fashion names, you can pick up pieces for a song at thrift stores and take them to consignment boutiques where you are likely to get triple and quintuple your investment. Yes, good condition and up-to-date does matter. Also many consignment shops are seasonally based and if you bring in an armful of sweaters mid-summer you won’t get much as they’ll shuffle these to the back room.

Find a consignor that works for you. How often do they pay out? Do they have a minimum amount for them to issue a check? It is the same kind of rules that apply online with affiliates (if you are familiar with those.)

#3 Hold an Estate Sale
This might look and feel kind of like a garage sale but the language and word choices are everything. Having an “estate” sale indicates a very different class of goods than having a rummage sale. You can sell your own goods or sell goods you’ve picked up from other not so savvy “garage” salers and thrift stores.

A neighbor of mine did this recently and pulled in over $3k much to the surprise of her husband who was sure it wouldn’t amount to much. She did it with vintage finds and careful placement throughout her home, so the goods were shown in context. This makes a big difference. Putting it out on tables on the street is garage style. Setting up inside your home will garner more sales at higher levels.

Yes, you can create your own economy and it means being creative with what you have, both the talents you have, the skills you possess, and the stuff you own. When you want more creative ideas on how to make business better in any economy head on over to www.superchargesuccess.com.

This is to your business what great and flavorful tea and fresh baked bread is to most restaurants (we aren’t at Denny’s here!)

Email and Phone Response Time
I actually recall a showroom I was in years ago who had a policy of “appearing busy” so they didn’t answer their phone until the third ring or later. That is cracked! It is also unprofessional and discourteous to clients. Needless to say I didn’t do business with them. What is your policy? Sure you can let it roll to vmail nothing wrong with that, but you do need to ensure you follow up promptly or have an assistant do so. Oh and please if someone calls, call them back, unless they request a text or email. Always use the same format of communication that they started with unless invited to change.

Email Signature
This is so often overlooked, incredibly simple to do (hey, I’m a non-tech and can to do it) Please when you send an email always have a signature file with your full name, title, and some form of contact. Now I understand that perhaps not everyone gets your direct access, but you can always put a general office line and include a tag about your latest program, service special or award (Yes, I am going to be adding my Forbes recognition to mine!) Make it easy to reach you fast, email isn’t always reliable or fast.

Clear Branded Identity
Every now and again, I’ll be in a restaurant and it seems to be a bit of this, a bit of that, a real hodge podge of themes, elements, even the china isn’t consistent, the flatware mixed up and you get the sense that they just threw it together. In business this can be lethal. You must have a cohesive and easy to understand presence and identity. This isn’t about your logo, so get over logo paralysis (yes you!) This is about knowing who you are, what you stand for, and the primary ways you serve. I speak, mentor, and consult. Sure I also do social media management, and marketing strategy and those fall under consulting. I am consistent and persistent in my presence (same headshot on every network, in fact that is my logo) and providing value always. What are you recognized for? Can you be recognized, or are you all over the map with 18 different identities and simply a moving target? Stop, get clear, get targeted.

When you take care of the basics you will have many more opportunities come your way for the BIG stuff. If you ignore the basics, you will find those opportunities dwindling fast. What kind of tea will you serve? What kind of bread will you bake? When you want to get clear and strategic on your basics and essentials head over to claim your free spot in my www.superchargesuccess.com Insider’s Circle.

You do the “work” once and enjoy the benefit multiple times. The repurposing can be as simple as cutting and pasting or you can, in the case of your wordpress blog (wordpress is truly the easiest and simplest), simply push a button in a convenient widget (think application) that will send your post, now an article to ezinearticles.com.

I used to think that I had to write three separate pieces of content, but I fast learned that as long as my article/post/ezine is at least 320 words, it can be easily repurposed and working for me. What this means to your prospects and clients is that you are much more visible, building your expert status, and ultimately creating profit opportunities. If your market doesn’t see you, they don’t know you, if they don’t know you, they can’t like you or trust you. You need to build that KLT (know, like, trust) factor to grow sales and revenues.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and let’s presume that you have a blog or write articles but you don’t have an ezine. (Oh and if you don’t have a blog or write articles, there are super easy ways to set that up fast and without writing! http://budurl.com/BEAMIT) Well, that might cost you $30-$50/month for an autoresponder service and the time to cut and paste your content into format (or delegate it.)

1. Keeps You Top of Mind with your Prospects and Clients
   This is important when you want to get known fast and be the
   Go-To-Guru in your industry, trade, niche or topic.  There is no
   better way to be consistent and persistent. http://budurl.com/BEAMIT
2. Creates a Forum for Communication
   Clients will email you feedback and comments based on what you’ve shared.
3. Increases Lead Generation
   Your prospects get to know, like and trust you and that is an important
   step to becoming your ideal client. Your clients can easily forward your
   ezine to friends, family, and colleagues for referrals. http://budurl.com/BEAMIT
4. Provides Regular Promotion Opps
   Each edition of your Ezine can include a special on a service or product you
   offer. You can also promote other’s products and services as an affiliate.
5. Gives Instant Access to Your Clients
   You’ll have instant access to all of your clients quickly and easily, a blog doesn’t
   do that, nor does an article but an Ezine does. Sure you want to be consistent
   with your schedule but you’ve still got access at the push of a button. This is
   a huge time saver http://budurl.com/BEAMIT
6. Low Cost
   While there are dozens of services to choose from, most allow a free 30-day
   trial and once you select on it will be on average $30-$50/month depending
   on your list size (and you may start out with no list and that is okay too.)
7. Permission Based
   You will have a choice about whether you want to be single opt-in or double
   opt-in and that means that no matter what no one is on your list without
   permission. In this age of FTC regulations and spam laws, that’s really important.

I’m all about making this super easy for you, and when you put these three content sharing systems together you get to B.E.A.M. your way into success, simply and without more time. When you want to know more check out http://budurl.com/BEAMIT. I’m going to share a lot of how to that will get you up and running, saving time, energy, and effort while skyrocketing your visibility and credibility and that leads to profitability.