Archive for General
How Internet Marketing is Like Candy Corn
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It’s that time of year again. The trees are starting to change colors and the leaves are falling to the ground. The weather has cooled off a bit and perfect fall days have set in (at least in the South). Football season has started, and the thrill of Trick-or-Treating is in the air. I absolutely love this time of year, especially Halloween. After all, it is the only time of year that you can dress up and be anyone you want and then go knocking on doors for candy.
When I think of Halloween, I think of candy corn. Sweet and tasty, it melts in your mouth. Every individual piece is colored the same, yet has slight variations in size and texture. Some may even be a bit broken or cracked. Candy corn is like Internet marketing! It is comprised of three colors, much like successful Internet marketing is comprised of three parts.
- SEO or search engine optimization – How will they find you if they don’t know your name? When they Google your main keyword phrase, do they find you or a competitor? Have you fully optimized your blog and your website? Do you have a comprehensive keyword strategy?
- Content – having proper content that utilizes your keywords and engages your buyers is Read More→
Caffeine: Are You Addicted?
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Anyone who knows me well knows that I start my day off with a large Diet Coke and lots of crushed ice. Even better if it is a fountain drink from McDonalds or QuickTrip, they always seem to have the mix just right. I think most people still start their day with a hot coffee. With a coffee, you still have to get the “mix” right. Some people like it black, but others have a certain combination of sugar and cream that they like with it. If the ingredients or the mix isn’t right, the day just doesn’t get off to the right start, does it?
Search Engine Optimization also requires the right mix. With the recent releases of Google Caffeine and Google Instant – it seems that Caffeine Instantly Matters. Results are rendered faster with Caffeine and appear instantly before your eyes with Google Instant. You will want to keep an eye on your keyword phases and see if they improve or drop due to recent changes. Lots of folks are looking for the right SEO mix for their website.
If you are an Atlanta home builder or developer, you can perk your search results instantly by sharing your Atlanta real estate news stories on Atlanta’s favorite real estate blog, Atlanta Real Estate Forum. You’ll love the fresh-brewed traffic the we send to your website; It is sure to give you perkier search results!
If you are still confused by SEO and the recent changes, call me at 770-383-3360, I’m here to help! And, I’d love to know why type of caffeine you are addicted to. Drop me a note or comment on the blog and let me know!
Seen at PCBC
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A special thanks to my friend Paula Huggett with Bokka Group for taking this picture and sending it to me. This was seen at PCBC in the Marketshare booth. Their product is “Top Communities.”
The quote is from my book, “Social Media for Home Builders: It’s Easier Than You Think” available from Builder Books. If you are still wondering how to launch an effective social media program, call me! 770-383-3360
Looking Forward To Seeing Everyone at 21 Century Building Show
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The North Carolina Professional Women in Building will be hosting a hospitality suite on Thursday, September 16 during the 21 Century Building Show and Expo. It is a great time to come out and find out more about PWB membership, and get some tasty snacks.
Additionally, PWB is presenting two seminars geared toward women during the show. Come join us, it should be a lot of fun. First Mitch Levinson and I will present Social Media for Home Builders at 10 a.m., then Tammie Smoot and I will present Sell To Women Through the Social Media Grapevine at 2 p.m.
Let us know what you’d like to learn during Social Media for Home Builders! Mitch and I are happy to cater the class to your requests and suggestions!
Don’t forget to register for the show at www.21BuildingExpo.com.
It’s Not Personal, It’s Business
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How many times have we heard this? I love this page from Seth Godin’s What Matters Now. It is by Mitch Joel the President of Twist Image and author of Six Pixels of Separation.
Compassion:
“It’s nothing personal, it’s just business.”
We spend more than 50% of our lives at work. Why would anyone want to wake up in the morning and go to work with that attitude? If you don’t make it personal, and if you don’t make it count, what’s the point?
Business is missing one important core value: compassion.
“Between work and family, I have no time for community.”
This is is something everyone feels at some point in their lives. But think about it: What if we made community an integral part of our business? What if we recognized that we can’t have strong businesses without a Read More→
Topsy Turvy Mother’s Day
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I’ve always wanted to try a Topsy Turvy for growing tomatoes and thanks to my “boys” now I have the chance!.
As you can see from these photos, it has been a Topsy Turvy Mother’s Day at the farm! Reminiscent of the world of Dr. Seuss, when I took the photo of the Topsy Turvy I accidentally moved the camera and got a really crazy shot. I assure you that our house is not bent!
Now I’m growing tomatoes upside down! It will be interesting to see if each plant really produces 50 pounds of tomatoes like the ads claim. Tomatoes are supposed to grow 20-percent faster and no staking is required. The downside is that I have to try to remember to water them every day.
10 Tips to Attain and Manage Power
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This post is for all the business owners and entrepreneurs in my life. My friend Karla Sinclair, Publisher of Atlanta Daybook shared this information from the Possible Woman conference held recently in Atlanta. It is really great information and I hope it will provide you with additional motivation to continue to be the shining star that you are.
Political commentator Donna Brazile gave the keynote address which focused on women attaining and managing power.
Ten Tips from Donna Brazile:
- Know your power and believe in yourself.
- Be true to yourself and visualize.
- Identify role models and mentors.
- Nourish your ambition.
- Dare to dream and communicate clearly.
- Set a strategy for success and write it down.
- Remove stumbling blocks and remain steadfast despite the obstacles.
- If you get knocked down, get back up.
- Don’t be afraid of controversy.
- Stir the waters. Sometimes making waves is the only way to move forward.
Sites for Women
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If you are a woman, and statistically we know that about 50-percent of you are, here are some social media sites you may want to check out! We discovered many of these Web sites last fall while putting together the “Sell More Homes to Women Through the Social Media Grapevine,” a program presented by myself and three dynamic women at the International Builders Show (IBS). If you are a man (and 50-percent of you are), this is a great way to find out what makes women tick and how to market to us!
Blogher – The community for women who blog
www.blogher.com
Girls in Tech – A network for women in business in the technology space
http://girlsintech.net
MillionaireMoms – the art of raising an business and a family at the same time
www.millionairemom.com
Atlanta: A Social Media Meca
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Social Media Marketing for Business
Atlanta now tops the lists of places to be in social media marketing. Does your small business Tweet? Do you have a Facebook page? If the answer is no, maybe it is time to look into a social media program. Just last week Atlanta was listed as one of the top Twitter cities of the world. Listed at #5, Atlanta is in good company coming in just behind London, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.
During 2009, Atlanta was one of the fastest growing cities in terms of Facebook users with more than 142% growth during the first half of the year. In numbers of Facebook users Atlanta is second only to New York! With all of these potential consumers flocking to Facebook and Twitter, it is more important than even to make sure your small business has a presence on the sites.
To streamline your social media strategy, make sure to launch a blog as the heart of your program. A blog will help you develop your messages and save time spent on social media by reducing the number of places you need to update. While there aren’t Read More→
RSS Doesn’t Mean Really Simple to Steal
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Do you create GREAT blog content? Do you find that others love it too? In fact they often love it enough to steal it and post it verbatim on their own blog or website! Well, you are not alone. After having numerous posts copied and pasted word for word from our beloved Atlanta Real Estate Forum to other sites, we decided to create these clever shirts (Well, we think they are clever anyway, Let us know if you like them too!).
The front says, “My blog posts are so good, they may contain content that you’ll want to Steal!”
The back says, “RSS does not mean Really Simple to Steal.”
You can have one too for the low, low price of $20 (includes shipping). Just visit mRELEVANCE to order one. Make sure to enter your complete address so we can mail it to you along with your preferred size M, L or XL.
Let the world know how proud you are of your blog content with a fun RSS tshirt from mRELEVANCE.
