What Is Twitter?

Well besides something that on the surface sounds inane at best, Twitter is a social media tool that allows users to quickly stay in touch.

Have you ever been so busy that you don't even have time to open email messages? One of my best friends said to me years ago, "I'm only reading subject lines now, so put whatever you want me to read there because I won't see your message."

He would love Twitter, which only allows you 140 characters to keep your prospects, contacts, network, tribe, or whatever else you call your list these days, informed.

Of course, there is much, much more to Twitter than just telling others about what you're doing.

Check out this EXCELLENT post by Chris Brogan titled, "50 Ideas On Using Twitter for Business."

And watch out for my free video offer coming soon, "How a Silly Thing Called Twitter Can Help You Get More Clients, Faster, for Less Money."

August 28, 1963

Web 2.0: Why Should You Care?

This is almost old school now, but the whole Web 2.0 thing is still hanging around. Do you even know what I'm talking about? Otherwise known as Social Networking, it's a "new" way of doing business and building relationships through internet outlets such as MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn to name a few.

Of course, this way of communicating isn't exactly new. MySpace and Facebook have been around for nearly 5 years now. And way before they arrived, there were forums, chat rooms, and online community groups which allowed users to converse with one another, in a less organized fashion.

So have you embraced the power of Web 2.0 for your business or is this something you'll hope will be just a passing fad?

Let me tell you a quick story...I used to run the group exercise department at UC Berkeley. Back in the 90s, a fellow named Billy Blanks did an infomercial, selling VHS tapes of his exercise program called TaeBo. Remember it? The man made millions.

After a few years, the notion of group boxing and kickboxing classes began to trickle into aerobics studios and gyms. I didn't care much for those classes but I went ahead and got certified to teach it. Why? I knew it was going to be big and I couldn't let the fact that I personally disliked the format get in the way of doing business.

Sure enough, the trend hit in a BIG way and before I knew it, I was teaching classes of 100+ sorority sisters, faculty, and community members 3 times a week because there weren't a whole lot of other instructors trained to do the job.

Was it worth it? Heck, yeah. We had lines out the door every night and turned people away when the class was full at 120 people. Did the "fad" last? To my knowledge, those classes are still going strong, thankfully, without me.

So should you find out a little bit more about what "silly" things like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook are all about?

What do you think?

If you're curious, look out for my new, free video, "How a Silly Thing Called Twitter Can Help You Get More Clients, Faster, For Less Money."

Hi-ya!

Are You Out of Touch?

And how do you know unless you ask?

How well do you communicate with your current clients and with the folks you hope will be your future clients, otherwise known as your niche or target market? Many business owners make the fatal mistake of speaking to a select few within their sphere of influence and assume that everyone else has the same:

1. problems/concerns
2. needs/desires
3. fears/objections

And if you take it a step further and create services and products based on your assumptions, it's likely your next big launch will be met with the echoing sound of crickets.

The solution? Simply ask. Conduct a survey. Offer a gift if you must, to ramp up participation.

Here are 3 online tools, both for free and fee, that make creating and reading your surveys a snap:

• SurveyMonkey.com
• Zoomerang.com
• AskDatabase.com

Ask and watch the results of your next campaign double and even triple.

Big News at Jott.com

I've blogged about this service before and heartily endorsed it. I also received a ton of positive feedback from readers, so I wanted to let you know that as of today, Jott is finally out of beta.

If you never heard of them, check out their services, which have vastly improved over the last year. If you already have a free account through their beta edition, Jott is offering a 26% discount if you sign up for a paid account and pay for a year upfront.

Rest assured that they do still offer a free option, but the features are limited.

Time to Say, "I Do"

OK, I haven't blogged in a millenia but I've experienced many changes in the last few months...bought a new house, combined and moved 2 households together, got married. You know, the usual stuff.

(That's me with my new husband, Mark, on our wedding day, lucky 8/8/08.)

As a small business owner, can you identify with life getting in the way of your business?

Getting off track is one thing. Staying off track, quite another.

At some point you have to ask yourself, "Do I want to get back in the game?" If the answer is "I do!" then make a plan and get into action.

That said, I hereby renew my commitment to this blog and all the readers who have supported me over the years.

Stay tuned for lots of fun stuff, including free webinars and trainings and a name change for me at some point. Whoo-hoo!


All the best,

Kim