I get a lot of books in the mail, but when I received the bright orange Worst Case Scenario Business Survival Guide by Mark Joyner and David Borgenicht, I noticed right away that it was a bit different.The easy-to-read format offered a lot of white space, and the bullet-type advice they offer makes the content easily actionable. Just what the doctor ordered: business advice that's actionable, easy-to-read and not bogged down by a bunch of mumbo-jumbo theory.So I reached out to Mark and David and asked if they wanted to offer any social media advice,... Continue Reading »

One of the first decisions you need to make once you've decided to go social is which medium is the best choice. You make these decisions based on at least the following two things:1. What you (or whomever will actually be DOING social media) does best. In other words, are you (or they) a better speaker, writer or "actor"? Here's why these things are important:If you know you're a better writer, start a blog, not a podcast or vlog (video blog).If you know you're a better speaker, launch a podcast, not a blog or... Continue Reading »

With nearly 500,000 traditional and self-published books released every year, it's become a massive challenge to get your book to stand out and sell, no matter how revolutionary it is. And much of what worked a few years back falls flat today. So, my business buddy Jonathan Fields has spent literally the past three years tracking, reverse-engineering and then innovating new book-selling strategies--largely to help sell his own book, Career Renegade. (He also has a website by the same name.)But he also realized how much misinformation is out there. So last month, he released a white paper called "The Truth... Continue Reading »

Back in June, Facebook allowed its account holders to create customized URLs (what Facebook called usernames and people also call vanity URLs). So instead of sending people to this link: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=0000000000You can send them here: http://www.facebook.com/lenawestHowever, if, like millions of other people, you had better things to do and were otherwise engaged on June 13, 2009, you may have missed the opportunity to snag your vanity URL on Facebook. Here's one quick and easy way to get around that:Head over to GoDaddy or some other such domain name registrar... Continue Reading »

Recently, I had the opportunity to deliver a presentation at the 2009 Business Women's Forum, and one of my slides from my presentation said simply:"People who stand in the middle of the road--get hit."What I mean by that is, part of being successful with social media is having an opinion. Most businesspeople who are unsuccessful using social media either have nothing of value to say at all (read: posts or Tweets about pets, food selection or hairstyles) or they take a middle-of-the-road approach to issues. Neither of these approaches serves anyone--least... Continue Reading »

For some reason, when entrepreneurs decide they want to start using social media, they just "have at it." They spark up a Facebook or Twitter account or launch a blog, and they're off to the races.They think that because social media and social networking tools are so easy to use AND because so many "experts" are telling them to "get their feet wet" and "just get started," they'd better get cracking. And they fall headlong into trouble. They get poor results (if any results at all), they don't get the feedback they're seeking, they waste oodles of time... Continue Reading »

The other day, I read a newsletter written by a marketing consultant, and in it she says, "Typically, if there is a difference of a few hundred people between your follower and following lists, it means you have quite of number of spammers following you and you'll need to clean them out."I'm really glad that she modified this supposition with the word "typically," because this is definitely NOT the case. Let me use myself as an example:For me, Twitter has been a social experiment of sorts. I was intentionally "tardy to the party" when I... Continue Reading »

Seriously, what we don't need is yet another social networking site. Which is why I was pleasantly surprised with the conversation over at OurConvo.com. It promises a "kinder, gentler" forum for anyone to express his or her views . . . without having to endure the negative, borderline (and sometimes over-the-border) abuses found on other social networks--I'm sure I don't need to mention any names, do I? Check it out . . . simple, easy, effective, and . . . kind.  Can't beat that! ... Continue Reading »

Nearly 60 percent of small-business owners feel challenged finding innovative ways to market their business, yet only 13 percent are tapping opportunities in social networking, according to the American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor, a semi-annual survey of small-business sentiment.To help small-business owners bridge the gap, American Express OPEN recently announced the launch of its new OPEN Forum, an online resource and networking site for small business owners.The new OPEN Forum connects like-minded business owners, provides tangible road maps on how to leverage social media to grow their businesses and provides original content daily... Continue Reading »

Social media is arguably the most powerful communication tool in recent technology. Services such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are "freesources" that enable your business to generate buzz, connect with potential customers, build brand loyalty, listen to real-time feedback, improve customer service and more. The word-of-mouth marketing social media facilitates is free, extremely effective and enables you to connect with your customers in new and dynamic ways. But which programs are truly free and how does your business use them?That's where Freesourcing.org comes in. It's the first free directory providing businesses with a comprehensive catalog of complimentary... Continue Reading »