Build On Your LinkedIn Relationships


Set up your LinkedIn preferences so that you are receiving an update email at least once a week. Use the email as a reminder and, when you receive it, scroll to the bottom and click on 'view all network updates'. Take a few minutes to scan the latest updates from your contacts. Send notes to congratulate others on their successes. Comment on and share links to items of interest. Check out who is newly connected with who and identify someone that you'd like to be introduced to.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

This Useful Process Helps You Teach with Your Writing

Image
If you do any amount of training or facilitating work with customers, you may already be familiar with adult learning models. Teachers use them to prepare insightful learning experiences. The one I'm familiar with is Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle but there are others equally useful: Learning can start at any stage in the cycle: Concrete experience - encounter a new experience or reinterpret an existing experience Reflective observation - reflect on an experience from a personal perspective Abstract conceptualization - form new ideas (or revise existing ideas) based on reflection Active experimentation - apply new ideas to surroundings, test for changes in the next experience The next time you sit down to write an article intended to teach, consider following this process. Pick the most obvious stage at which to start for the topic you have in mind. Work your way through the cycle, perhaps having a paragraph or two for each stage. Your writing will fl...
Keep reading »

Colour Palettes for Fall Marketing

Image
An image might be worth a thousand words but it's actually worth more in colours, likely several hundred thousand. No doubt a photo will first catch your eye because of the overall composition, and the foremost colours play a role. Not only do each of us see colours differently , we feel about them differently, too. We think of autumn colours as vibrant reds, golds and oranges, or muted browns and greens. But they can also be cool shades, like frost on the morning grass or the pale blue sky. What does your fall marketing campaign look and feel like? Here are some traditional colour schemes, plus a couple of not so common themes to spice up your fall marketing. All of these images are free to use and can be found at pexels.com . These are the colours of October and Thanksgiving - bright, warm colours. For Halloween, add some purple for a sense of the mysterious. Muted shades, these colours feel outdoorsy and healthy. This scheme feels se...
Keep reading »

Who Are You Marketing To?

Image
You know those workshops you go to where the instructor puts you on the spot right at the start by asking you to describe your target market? I'm one of those instructors. And I do it because a discussion about target markets is a critical first step to any marketing strategy and subsequent plans. Invariably there is at least one person in every class who tells me they can sell to anyone. I know I'll get the chance to preach, "You might be able to sell to anyone but you can't market to everyone." Marketing is expensive - in time and money. We need to find and develop content that is valuable ( useful and/or interesting ) to those specific people we want to have as customers . Once we've done that, we've got it made, right? So, who are we marketing to? potential customers customers Wait, there are more people we want to impact with our marketing: colleagues peers influencers referrers vendors partners collaborators Don't let me ...
Keep reading »

The Wrong Way to Introduce Your First Newsletter

Image
You wouldn't hug a complete stranger. So, if the red-head in the photo approached you on the street, you'd likely back away and think WTF. Even if he wants a date, that's a pretty lame approach. We don't have much room for needy strangers in our small business lives. It's enough work to keep up with friends and colleagues. So why the heck would any business person send a newsletter to a stranger that starts like this... ? We spent many hours and resources on researching, writing, proofing and designing this newsletter. As a valued customer, we are offering this newsletter to you for FREE! newsletter example It's too bad they spent all those hours and resources. And too bad they didn't know FREE newsletters haven't been unique for a very long time. Next, they'll wonder why email marketing isn't working for them. Especially for your very first issue , there are a few basic things to include. The most important is to give value or poi...
Keep reading »

Summer Content Ideas - Loosen Up a Little

Image
If there's any time of year to get more personal with your content, it's during the summer. The rules are relaxed and people have more time to read deeper. Here are a few ideas you can try: Create a roundup of summer reading appropriate for your fans. This could be books or articles you've read, or even favourite videos, such as TED Talks . Create your own summer "want to read" list and share it. Share your favourite BBQ recipe. (Yes, even if you're a business consultant.) Update your business bucket list and share. Share "what I'm doing", "where to find me" updates – and why those things are relevant to your readers. If you're busy learning over the summer, write a "What I Learned" article . Compare or contrast one of your favourite summer activities with some aspect of your business. ( example ) Experiment with the "Mom test" and share your results. Start a new business habit and share your prog...
Keep reading »

8 Tips to Improve Readability

Image
Readability is defined as the ease with which a written text can be understood by a reader. ( The Free Dictionary ) While this definition certainly includes your words, sentences, grammar and writing style, it also has to do with the overall look of the text. Here are some tips to make your content look good, whether it's a newsletter, blog or website. #1. Use a slightly larger font size than you typically would when using Word, unless your content is lengthy. This ensures it will be easy to read on small screens and for those whose eyesight isn't perfect. Also consider using black or a dark colour as your font colour for the same reasons. #2. Avoid too much bold. Use bold sparingly to highlight the really important things, perhaps no more than once per paragraph. #3. Include whitespace around text and images, and between sections. Pictures look better and text is easier to read. #4. Use bulleted or numbered lists to simplify complex information. This provides ...
Keep reading »

Oh, Look! There Goes My Goal

Image
I don't need to tell you how hard it is to stay focused. And that's why it's so important to have goals that we can refer to that will keep us on track. Goals are sometimes quite removed from our daily activities. Once they're determined , a strategy is built around them. And then plans are made to execute the strategy. Next plans are broken down into action items and finally, we do or delegate specific tasks. When we're in "task mode" our goals may be completely out of mind. That's not a bad thing... as long as we're doing the things we planned to implement the strategy that will achieve our goals. Deviating from our plans is where we can get into trouble , and one way that happens is called "scope creep". That's a project management term - what is running a small business if not an ever-evolving project? Scope creep can happen accidentally but also "on purpose" and we need to be cautious of either. It's ea...
Keep reading »

Content Ideas for Consultants - Teach Something (Part 3)

Image
It's been said that the best way to become expert at something is to teach it and I've certainly found that to be true. Teaching forces us to research and prepare, to find the answers to tough questions, and to be open to feedback. This is where you write an article (or more) to teach something but first I challenge you to learn something new that's relevant to your business. If you've already been through Getting Started (Part 1) and Useful Content (Part 2) , you've had some practise. Keep your momentum going with this exercise. First, pick something to learn. This shouldn't be hard but, if you don't already know of something you want to learn, search topics for your industry online. Next, do the learning. This might involve taking courses, talking to experts, online research, and so on. Be tuned in for blog-worthy content. How you choose your learning method can also be part of what you write about. Make notes along the way. Now, teach. Yo...
Keep reading »

Combine Networking with Research for Killer Content

Image
Looking for a unique and easy content idea for your blog or newsletter? It will even improve your networking at the next event you attend. Think of a survey question where the answers of many people will give you market insight . Make sure: The results will be useful to you in understanding your market. The results will be interesting to your readers, and perhaps be useful to them, as well. The question is simple and can be articulated easily in a networking setting. The possible answers are easy to record so you can tally them up later. Here are some examples: I might ask, "How often do you send out a regular email newsletter?" My article might be something like: 45% of Small Business Owners Surveyed Don't Send Out Newsletters , with the results of the research (and how it was gathered) within. A health coach might ask, "How many times during a week do you skip breakfast?" His article might be something like: Skipping Breakfast is Rampant Among ...
Keep reading »

Why and How to Do a Wrap-up Article

Image
A wrap-up article is a logical and unique grouping of pieces of content where the grouping provides value to the reader beyond the individual pieces on their own. You might think of it like a themed gift basket. There are several reasons we need to be creating these wrap-up articles. They... serve as a great resource - valuable information grouped together use commonly searched keywords and phrases (good SEO) encourage deeper reading are often faster to create provide a process to repurpose past content remind us of what we've written and provide inspiration to write more Wrap-up articles serve us better than just about any other content we might create. Of course, we have to be creating content on a  regular basis  to be able to wrap it up. There are lots of different ways to group pieces of content : by topic - e.g. content idea generation, writing tips by use - e.g. how-to, conceptual, tips by thing - e.g. infographics, videos by user - e.g. for begi...
Keep reading »