Work Better, Not Harder

You just shared a most awesome resource with your followers on Twitter. It’s not your own resource but rather one you found on someone else’s blog. Regardless of the author, you know your followers will find it useful. Earlier you were busy sending an email message to a colleague in response to their newsletter. The personal story they included was touching and inspired you to write back. But you didn't tweet that  article. Why not? There’s a difference between content intended to build relationships and content intended for sharing . Building relationships and getting shared are only two of several possible reasons for creating content via newsletter and blog. Which is best? That depends on your own goals... and why it’s so important to have well-defined goals . Likely you will use a combination of both types of content but in different situations. For example, I tend to include experiential stories in my own newsletter. But on my blog I include more of the type of info

Leadership and teamwork disappeared when I left the corporate world and started my own business. Not the activities, just the words. Many small business owners seem to think these are concepts for big business. What did you depend on someone else for in the last couple of days? It might be advice, help figuring something out, a paid service, a favour, a Twitter post, brainstorming, feedback, inspiration to get unstuck, and so on. For me, it’s been all of those. And I consider all of those people part of my team. While doing work for a client recently, I came across an article titled The Discipline of Teams (Harvard Business Review, Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith) which gave this definition and opinion: 1. A meaningful common purpose 2. Specific performance goals 3. A mix of complementary skills 4. A strong commitment to how the work gets done 5. Mutual accountability, trust and commitment “People use the word “team” so loosely that it gets in the way of learning

Received this message on Facebook : What is your opinion about sending this kind of email below out? I am on the fence. (I've changed the name on their signature and company for privacy.) "Hi Natasha, We are doing a little organizing and noticed that it's been a while since you have opened any emails or shown any activity via the "XYZ" email subscription. No worries! We value your time! We just want to be sure we are bringing good vibes to the online community whilst not pestering anyone with unwanted emails. Are we bothering you? If you don't want to receive any future emails from us you can click here to unsubscribe from the mailing list. No prob. If you do want to receive these emails then you simply need to do nothing. Keep on keepin' on. Find What Feels Good. Love, A" Consider this: If the motivation for sending something to your list is personal, think twice.  Always give something of value - this email doesn't do that. Your emai

Save yourself time, money and stress by avoiding these common mistakes. They can have a big impact on your success. #1. Having your sign-up in only one place The more places people see your sign-up form, the more subscribers you'll get. Make sure it's in multiple places on your website, including on a dedicated page. Have a call to action with a link to your sign-up page on your blog, your social media profiles, and in your email signature. Regularly promote your sign-up page via social media posts. #2. Putting too many calls to action on your sign-up page People get confused by too many options. Don't ask them to sign up for your list, buy your latest product, like your Facebook page, and check out your newest blog post... all at the same time. Explain exactly what you want them to do, how to do it, and what button to click next. Don't assume everyone recognizes a hyperlink - say "click here". #3. Not telling subscribers exactly wha

I'm a big fan of the detailed message, whether it is by phone or email. But, as Mary Jane Copps mentioned in her article  The Illusion of the Detailed Message , they aren’t intended to build relationships – they're intended to save time . From a customer service perspective, we want them to save time for the person we're calling. But, of course, they can also be more efficient for us. These are instances when a detailed phone message is perfect: You want to relay ALL of the relevant information so the other person doesn’t need to call you back. This is great for giving someone an update on a work project. You want to ask questions which may require some preparation to answer. This gives the other person time to think about or research their responses before calling you back. You're replying to a request for information and no discussion is necessary. An example that many of us are familiar with is when we need to make an appointment for a meeting. I’ve learne