Time Management: Setting Boundaries
By · Commentsby Michelle Quillin for New England Multimedia
“Share This” post by clicking on the “Share This” icon at the end!
Can You Relate?
"I'm late! I'm late!"
Some days I get so much done I fall into bed accomplished and satisfied, knowing my time was well spent and productive, vowing to do it again the next day, and the day after that. Everything clicked, my time management skills worked wonders, and I managed to meet every goal I set.
Other days I get a late start, find myself off-track and under the gun until I finally call it a night, and vow to get back in the saddle the next day.
Then there are the days that are a complete wash, leave me feeling defeated and frustrated, angry at myself.
The Defeated Days are usually caused by one thing: I’ve allowed boundaries to be blurred or downright crossed, and for no good reason.
You love people. I mean, you really love people. But the people in your life don’t see what your life is like from the inside. They don’t know that you have more than a few people in your life who want a piece of your time, more than a few people you want to talk to, and people you have to spend time with if you’re going to be successful and be able to make a living doing what you want to do.
OK, yes, they do know. But they’re not aware of the jockeying for position all of those other people are doing, and how much you wish you could meet every need and still get your other goals met.
They don’t know that in the ten minutes you’ve been typing that blog post that was due three days ago, and looking anxiously at your massive to-do list, that the dust bunnies gathering in the corners of your office are starting to grow legs and your refrigerator is beginning to look like it did when you were in college. In that same ten minutes, your phone has rung not once, but three times from three different people. You’re dreading checking your voicemail, because there are phone calls from yesterday you still haven’t returned.You’ve had four new emails come in and twenty Facebook updates and invitations to attend events and join causes and groups. The blogs you subscribe to, while very valuable in wisdom and information, are piling up in your inbox waiting to be skimmed for nuggets. You’ve got a phone appointment with a new client in two hours, two prospects waiting for calls back, a networking meeting you really should go to, and a support ticket you’re waiting for a call back on.
Oh, and your child has a soccer game, your wife says she’s lonely, and you haven’t talked to your mother in two weeks.
Feeling anxious yet?
Truth is, getting at lest 8 hours of work done a day has become a battle against technology that has now made you available to everyone, anytime.
Short of pulling a disappearing act and changing your identity, what can you do?
If you want to be in control of your time, you have to learn Rule #1 of Time Management: Setting Boundaries.
Boundaries protect you from people who unknowingly are keeping you from achieving your goals. They’re a Time Management strategy that will ultimately protect others from the meltdown you’re bound to have if you don’t set firm boundaries and stick to them.
Over the years of wearing a few hats at once, I’ve learned to set boundaries, communicate them lovingly, and stick to them. Boundaries are what keep me smiling when most people would be freaking out.
Five Boundaries I’ve Learned To Set
1) Learn to say “No.” I heard a pastor once say that for everything he said yes to, he had to say no to something else, and that something else was usually his family. When someone asks something of you, ask yourself, “What will I have to say no to if I say yes to this?” and then make a decision. I don’t know why, but saying “No” seems to be the most difficult thing for nurturers/caretakers to learn how to do, whether they’re male or female. But if you don’t start saying “No” — and practicing saying “No” with no excuses — you will never get control of your time. Other people will control you, and you’ll begin to resent them and even avoid them.
2) Decide how many hours a day you’ll devote to your work or career, and then stick to it.Yes, flexibility is good, and you need to keep yourself open to opportunities, but for the most part, stick to a schedule each day. Schedules are boundaries that will keep you from wasting time, and they come in handy for communicating boundaries to your friends and family. Schedules also help you deal with clients or vendors who talk too much and go off on tangents. Your set schedule will remind you to bring ramblers back to the point, and will keep you from being a rambler yourself, because you’ll keep in mind that you only have so much time left to get done all you need to get done.
3) Don’t take personal calls or answer personal emails during those hours you’ve determined to devote to work or career, unless you’re desperately in need of a short ten-minute break. If you make or take a phone call, tell your friend that you have just ten minutes, and then when that ten minutes is up, get off the phone. If they say, “Just one more thing” and try to keep you on the phone, you say, “No, I have to get back to work now.” I’ve had friends who will not let me off the phone, and my heart for people keeps me from being rude and just hanging up. Instead, those are friends I don’t call when I only have ten minutes, because they don’t respect boundaries. They probably just don’t understand.
4) Keep a calendar next to your desk and make sure you have one day a week when you do NOTHING but spend time with friends and family, if they’re not work. My day is Sunday, but yours can be any day you want. In order for me to set firm boundaries for myself and others every other day of the week, I need a day when I’m not doing any work, and that includes being around people who are draining. That’s a boundary in itself. Having a day of rest is a Time Management strategy that keeps me from becoming a slave to my work and neglecting the healthy relationships that keep me human and connected. I am beyond blessed to have the most amazing, loving family and friends, but I realize not all of us do. Make your day of rest a day of rest in every way.
5) Use A Time Map. There are so many ways to do this, and I’ll cover them in a post on Time Management, but basically Time Mapping means clearly delineating specific times each day and/or week for specific tasks/goals. You tweak and adapt your Time Map when it’s not working anymore, or when you’ve added new things that need to be fit in to your goals.
My latest Time Mapping strategy is this: I drew a clock face on a dry erase board next to my desk, and blocked off parts of each hour for specific things that are important to me so I can meet my goals for each day without fail.
Here’s what my Time Map Clock looks like:
My Hourly Schedule
The ten minutes before each hour is for “personal” connections. I connect with friends or family during that ten minutes of each hour. The next ten minutes immediately after that is for “chores.” Chores can be anything non-work related that needs to be taken care of. For example, if you work in a home office, go do a load of dishes, throw in a load of laundry, do some filing, vacuum a rug, pay some bills. If you work for someone else, clean your desk, empty your garbage can, organize your paperwork. Ten minutes. That’s it.
I put my “chores” time directly after the “personal” time strategically. If I’m on a personal phone call and need a couple of minutes to finish it up, I start a chore that I can do while I talk. If I have to, I strap my phone to my waist and use a headset. But doggone it, my goal is to end that phone call before that next ten minutes is up. The only time I wouldn’t end it is if the person on the other end is in crisis and it’s got to be dealt with then. And believe me, it’d be a real crisis to keep me on the phone. If there’s no crisis but the friend needs more time, I promise to call them back when I take my next break.
The next ten minutes after “chores” is specifically set aside for Twitter, because I’m building new relationships and need to devote time for reading Tweets, retweeting, replying, and tweeting my own stuff. I’ve found that if I leave Twitter running in the background and go at it all day, I don’t get much else done, so this is a boundary I’ve set up to protect myself from my love of connecting. I can’t wait for the day when I can connect with others all day with no negative ramifications on the rest of my goals. If I play my cards right, that’s going to happen.
The other thirty minutes of each hour is strictly for work. As you can see, I have a list written on the dry erase board next to the clock face for things I do every day. I have other lists as well, including a To-Do list in a notebook for specific tasks and a master list of goals on a dry erase board above my desk.
These are just a few of the boundaries I’ve set to protect my relationships, myself, and my goals. They’re my secret weapons against Time Vampires — the ones who don’t understand the demands on my life, and the ones I bring upon myself through my own bad habits.
So, Reader, what boundaries have you set up to protect your time and meet your goals?
After reading this, what boundaries do you need to set?
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, or on our Twitter.
by Michelle Quillin for New England Multimedia
“Share This” post by clicking on the “Share This” icon at the end!
Laura Roeder, "Your Backstage Pass To Twitter"
Yesterday I blogged about someone else for the first time — Laura Roeder, she of “Your Backstage Pass To Twitter” fame, among other endeavors. Her story is inspiring for those of you who want to build businesses that reflect your passions, who want to work for yourselves instead of being beholden by other people’s schedules and whims, and who want to hear that because of the power of social media and the incredible reach of the internet, regular people just like you can make it happen with some knowledge and ingenuity.
Read yesterday’s blog, “Your Backstage Pass To Twitter, Pt 1″ to get the beginning of the story and hear about Laura’s promotional webinar “The True Story of How a ‘Waste of Time Tool’ Launched My Six-Figure Business in Less Than 12 Months.” Don’t let the title mislead you into thinking this is another one of those “Get Rich Quick” schemes. It’s not. It takes work. It takes thought. It takes planning. But it’s work anyone can do, and best of all, harnesses the power of the internet and social media using free and inexpensive tools available to anyone.
More of Laura’s Story and A Few More Takeaways For You:
As promised, here are some more inspiring nuggets from Laura’s story about using Twitter to change direction and get the life she wanted:
1) Laura knew that networking is important, but she didn’t want to go to face-to-face networking events anymore, chasing down contracts. She saw and sees Twitter as one big networking event, and used it as such to build relationships with her followers. She gave very valuable tips on how to network, tips I’ve seen for face-to-face networking. Her point: Don’t be too “salesy”! Be interested in people!
2) Echoing something I’ve been saying to everyone, your online reputation is so important! Be encouraging. Be kind. Don’t criticize. Don’t start fights, and don’t take part in them. Relationship skills will go far in the social media world!
3) Leveraging her social reputation and her contact and follower lists, Laura decided to launch her first Online Training Program, “Your Backstage Pass To Twitter,” using a live video webinar format. She tweeted about a free promotional webinar she was going to host, which she did on February 12, 2009, with a launch date for the paid Online Training Program on February 19th. Excitedly, Laura shared that in that very first promo webinar, she made $3,000 in sales of “Your Backstage Pass To Twitter.” In case that’s not impressive, she shared that it would sometimes take her months to land a web design contract of that size (we know what that’s like). She made this in one live webinar.
4) Here’s where Twitter really worked for Laura. As she hosted her online video classes for “Your Backstage Pass To Twitter,” she would tweet about them, and her students would tweet as well — to each other and the world! The Twitter followers her webinar attendees had on their own lists were now hearing all about Laura and her training program. Free advertising for Laura and her brand!
Get People Talking!
By the way, at this point in Laura’s inspiring story, she didn’t even have a blog yet! A couple of months in, she built that blog using a generic, free template, nothing fancy, nothing embedded into another website. She said she hated to write, and the thought of having to put down her thoughts regularly in a blog was intimidating. Undaunted, Laura decided to use video to blog, and I’m sure that’s part of her success — video captures her personality and the “You can do this!” quality she has when she shares her knowledge and experience. Video blogging is the best way to make a human connection with your followers (note to self!). Of course, it helps if you have Laura’s infectious smile and her passion for what she does!
The best part of all? You can see that she’s one of us.
Everything Laura teaches is working for her: she’s building buzz. Here I am blogging about a total stranger, with no strings attached, no compensation, no reward other than I find her and her story amazing and inspiring. In a time when so many have lost their jobs, or have dreams of starting their own businesses but feel ill-equipped, she makes her viewer feel like everything will work out with ingenuity, relationship skills and a little hard work. My blogging about her is social proof enough for me.
The free webinar Laura gave yesterday was, in all honesty, to promote her online training program “Your Backstage Pass To Twitter” at the end. But that’s how she got the life she wanted, and got out of the career she was tired of. The way she talked about her paid online training program is so honest and refreshing, and she gave so much rich, useful content for free, that I walked away feeling like I just spent an hour with a girlfriend who’s made it and who shared her secrets with me.
Laura gave away much more valuable information that I’ve given you here. If you want to know how you can use Twitter to build the kind of reputation she’s built (and is still building), check out “Your Backstage Pass To Twitter.”
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, or on our Twitter.
by Michelle Quillin, for New England Multimedia
“Share This” post by clicking on the “Share This” icon at the end!
OK, I Was Wrong
Laura Roeder
I had the pleasure of attending an exciting webinar yesterday with the refreshing Laura Roeder, author of “Your Backstage Pass To Twitter.” The name of her webinar was “The True Story of How a ‘Waste of Time Tool’ Launched My Six-Figure Business in Less Than 12 Months.” The name is so over the top, I was all but certain it’d be one of those “Work From Home and Make Thousands of Dollars a Day” scams we see everywhere — the ones we’re always shocked that anyone would buy into.
Admittedly, I only signed up for it because (a) it was free, so if it was a scam I wasn’t out anything but a few minutes of my time, (b) I’m new to using Twitter for our business (New England Multimedia) and hoped I’d at least get a couple of new Twitter tips I haven’t seen yet, and (c) she used video advertising and her personality was admittedly adorable. I wanted to give her a chance.
But frankly, I didn’t expect much of value because of the title. I even registered for another webinar that started as soon as Laura’s was scheduled to end, expecting that I’d be out of hers by then anyway.
Well, I was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Did I say I was wrong? I was wrong. Laura gave her listeners an amazing, engaging pep talk filled with valuable information about Twitter, blogging, branding, relationships, how to change direction, how to be valuable, what to sell and how to sell it. I could’ve listened to her for hours.
What Laura Wanted, and How She Got There
Laura really did use Twitter to launch a successful business in less than 12 months in 2009. She started out as a young, independent web designer (Roeder Studios — now you have to redirect, Laura!), but decided at some point that she wanted to change direction and make a living doing social media consulting. She excitedly and transparently told us her story from there – a REAL story, filled with REAL “mistakes” that didn’t stand in her way, REAL soul searching about who she was and what she wanted, and REAL actionable steps she took along the way.
She wanted out of web design. She wanted to stop going to face-to-face networking events to sell herself. And she soon learned that she also didn’t want to have to stand in front of big clients with big contracts and give big presentations on social media campaigns. She said, “It wasn’t me.” So, using what she knew about social media, she completely changed the direction of her life and got the life she wanted.
Laura’s Story and a Few Takeaways For You:
1) When Laura started her first project, “The Dash,” she didn’t even have a blog. She used email newsletters only, and started a Twitter account for “The Dash.” She laughed at the fact that at first, she didn’t have a link to anything on her Twitter — no blog, no website. Her point? Start where you are, use what you’ve got, and move forward.
2) At first, she leveraged the Twitter list she’d built up for her web design business to turn attention to “The Dash.” Her point: Don’t start over, and don’t scrap everything. Again, start where you are, use what you’ve got, and move forward.
3) She decided on a weekly email newsletter delivering one actionable social media tip each week, and mapped out her topics ahead of time for the entire year. She didn’t want to be under the gun trying to think of things to write about. Laura said this was key for keeping her on schedule and planning ahead. She was also able to start working on the topics ahead of time, and not necessarily in order. Her point: Be consistent, and plan your content.
There’s so much more I want to share with you, but it’d keep you here forever and if you’re anything like me, you don’t have that kind of time or attention span! I’ve saved the rest of what she taught us for later, but just the valuable appetizers, so you’ll go to her for the meat and potatoes. Subscribe to my blog so you can read Part 2 tomorrow.
Over a very short period of time, Laura Roeder used her social skills, personality, Twitter lists and email contacts to launch a successful, exciting business that now brings her the satisfaction she was looking for. And you can do it, too.
Yes, she had something to sell — her training program “Your Backstage Pass To Twitter.” But she was up front about it right from the start, and when we found out the rest of the story, I guarantee not one of us felt like we’d wasted a single minute with her. I walked away excited and energized, thinking “I can so do this!” just with what she shared so freely and openly, and my imagination was on overdrive brainstorming about several side-projects I’ve been mulling over.
This isn’t your typical sales spiel, folks. Laura Roeder is the real deal. Check her out. If you have the kind of dreams she did, you have to hear her story for yourself.
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, or on our Twitter.
5 Web Clients Who’ll Keep You Up At Night
By · Commentsby Michelle Quillin, for New England Multimedia
“Share This” post by clicking on the “Share This” icon at the end!
Is it worth it? Is it really worth it?
At first, when you’re a young and hungry freelancer who needs to build a portfolio, you’ll take just about any assignment that comes along so you can prove yourself. You’ll live on Ramen noodles, pay the phone bill with the rent check, and kiss every rear end that plants itself in front of your face. You’ll make crazy promises and refuse to sleep until you deliver. Every project, to you, is worth a million dollars in reputation credibility.
But eventually you discover that those relationships can end up costing you more than they’re worth. You begin to understand why contracts are so long and complicated. You begin to develop a hyper-focused radar for potentially troublesome clients that just might qualify you for superhero status.
Following is our short list of 5 Web Clients Who’ll Keep You Up At Night, and how to recognize them. We won’t tell you how to get out of them once you’re in them. That’s for another blog post on another day.
You’ve been forewarned, Grasshopper.
1) The one who says they already “know a little about marketing.”
This is the client who has just enough knowledge to make them a pain in the rear and question everything you suggest. They’ll say things like “so-and-so’s blog said” and “I read on Twitter that.” This kind of knowledge in a client is dangerous to your mental health. Pass them off to your enemy, if you have one. (Thanks to I{heart}Rhody for this one!)
2) The one who has a great idea for a business but absolutely no money to his name, and just needs someone to believe in him and build him a basic website to get him off the ground.
In return, you’re promised tons of “later work” when the business gets off the ground. You’re energized by his zeal, believe in his idea and really want to help him, so you agree to build the basic site for next to nothing. His deposit check bounces, but his explanation reminds you of when you were young and hungry and just needed someone to believe in you, so you get to work. But not two weeks in, he starts changing the whole scope of the project, saying that “his designer friend said he should do this” and “his programmer friend said he should do that”…and then he wants you to work with his friends on a team. With meetings. And power point presentations. And by the way, why haven’t you invited him to your office to show him his website “up on the big screen,” anyway? What kind of web business are you?
3) The one who asks you to look over her entire website and give her a list of everything she needs to do to have it revamped and optimized for search engines, plus a quote for how much the new site will cost her — for free.
What? You want to be paid for that? But you haven’t even done any work yet!
4) The one who tells you they’re a multimillion dollar international company with a huge budget, and they just don’t have the time to work with a web designer — that’s why their website sucks. Can you help?
They ask for two quotes: one for a revamp of their present crappy website, and another for a new website with all the bells and whistles, including a content management system. After you draw up the quotes and email ‘em, they ask if you can come in for a meeting to discuss the problems with their present website. You’re seeing dollar signs — until you show up and sit down, and they call in their ON-STAFF WEB DESIGNER to sit in on the meeting.
5) The one who tells you they’ve been “ripped off” by their last two web designers, who won’t return their calls or emails.
They’ve lost tens of thousands of dollars and their budget is shot, and if they could just find someone honest who would get their website up and running for the balance of their budget, they’ll cut them in on a percentage of every sale that comes in. There’s a potential to make hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of the business. You’ll have to rebuild the database from scratch, though, and rebuild all the code, because their last designer won’t return their calls or emails anymore.
Oh, we could share so many more. But we want to hear from you — what “red flags” give you a sick feeling in your stomach, or have you checking your pulse to see if it’s reached hummingbird-rate?
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, or on our Twitter.
“After Hours”: Everyone’s A Saints Fan!
By · Commentsby Scott Quillin, Founder and Creative Director of New England Multimedia
“Share This” post by clicking on the “Share This” icon at the end!
Saints Fans: You Can Come Out Now!
You can come out now!
“After Hours“ is Scott Quillin’s space for sharing his music and Demotivational Posters.
Scott’s music is written and recorded each day in-house for his own pleasure and for corporate and film use. He set a goal for 2010 to upload a new composition every day. If time is short, he’ll share something from his archives of thousands of songs and compositions.
When he’s feeling especially snarky, Scott creates Demotivational Posters and puts them on New England Multimedia’s website on the “After Hours” page. Be sure to check them out and pass them around!
I Am My Own Worst Enemy: 5 Ways We Self-Defeat
By · Commentsby Michelle Quillin, for New England Multimedia
“Share This” post by clicking on the “Share This” icon at the end!
“Fear is that little darkroom where negatives are developed.” -Michael Pritchard, acclaimed keynote speaker, wellness coach and youth guidance motivator
If you google “I am my own worst enemy,” you’ll find that it’s an incredibly common refrain. Apparently, when it comes to progress and success, we know that we are, indeed, our own worst enemies.
In my experience, our most destructive self-defeating attitude — the one that seems to be the common denominator in nearly all our self-defeating behaviors, whether business- or relationship-related — is fear.
Fear is the root of most self-defeating behaviors
Fear manifests itself in a wide variety of interesting and self-destructive ways, including:
1) Procrastination (fear of missing out, fear of imperfection, fear of making mistakes)
2) Filtering (fear of being hurt, fear of being rejected, fear of not being good enough)
3) Prejudice (fear of the unknown, fear of not belonging, fear of being taken advantage of)
4) Avoiding conflict (fear of not being liked, fear of being wrong, fear of being rejected)
5) Defensiveness (fear of what others think of you, fear of someone “getting over on you,” fear of being seen as weak)
Procrastination: Avoiding the Inevitable
My biggest self-defeating behavior is procrastination. If a project is going to take longer than half a day, I put it off out of fear of missing out on something more fun, like research, writing, or social media. David Dadekian, a well-known photographer and blogger, shares the same tendency. When asked how he self-defeats David answered, “Self-defeat? I spend too much time on Twitter and Facebook!”
Procrastinators have a dangerous relationship with social media. I don’t know if David Dadekian would agree that his “spent time” on Facebook and Twitter is born of fear of anything, but mine is. It’s fear of missing out on some important piece of information. Transfer this over to the business world, and I can spend more time avoiding work than I would spend just doing it and getting it out of the way.
Procrastination worked well for me in college, when I could pull an all-nighter and pump out an A+ 20-page term paper like nobody’s business, books scattered around my living room floor waiting to be gleaned for footnotes and then listed in a hefty bibliography. That modus operandi doesn’t work so well in most other areas. I can’t fit in a month’s worth of working out in one night, so my YMCA membership sits unused, pulling $60 a month from my bank account in vain. I should fear dying young more than I fear missing out on having fun.
I’ve found a solution to my procrastination: Time Mapping. Of course, it only works when I use it.
Filtering: Assuming the Worst
Another self-defeating attitude is called “filtering,” and occurs when we make assumptions about ourselves or others based on past experiences. For example, if your childhood or adolescent years were filled with rejection, you may be especially affected by the slightest criticism in adulthood, to the point of dwelling on it exclusively. This kind of filtering can lead to a fear of taking risks, which left unchecked leads to apathy and paralysis, a deadly combination in business.
Paul Geffen, a Social Media Adviser and blogger, may be using filtering when he withdraws in response to delayed approval. He responded, “Self defeat? I get impatient and want approval right away. If I don’t get it soon enough I withdraw & then ignore the praise.” In Paul’s February 2, 2010 blog post, though, he wrote, “Am so much more productive now that I am not afraid to be ridiculous.” Paul knows himself, and knows what he needs to do to beat his inner enemy: be willing to look ridiculous!
Demonizing those we disagree with causes misunderstanding and deeper divisions
Filtering can lead to other self-defeating behaviors, such as shutting off relationships. One way filtering hurts relationships is when we focus on a negative or annoying quality in someone to the exclusion of all their positive qualities, and end the relationship or refuse to get to know someone better. In the business world, where relationships are paramount, this is a dangerous way to live and can have a ripple effect. We often forget that the person we shut off has other relationships that could be important to us either personally or in business.
Prejudice: Blanket Judgments
Prejudice is a form of filtering that can shut off important relationships meant to bring about deeper understanding of our differences if we would just listen openly and honestly. One need only look to the political world in America today to see the ugliness of prejudice and the division it causes. Many Republicans see Democrats as uneducated or “Kool-Aid drinkers” (referencing Jim Jones and the Jonestown Massacre), while many Democrats see Republicans as greedy or hyper-religious. Both assumptions are prejudiced, labeling people based on assumptions about them as individuals, effectively closing down communication between differing points of view and stifling civil discourse and understanding. Rush Limbaugh has made a fortune off our prejudices, as have many others in his position of being paid to exploit our fears of “those people we’re so different from.”
In the business world, prejudice can cause us to go so far as to refuse to do business with those who have different political or religious beliefs from us, causing deeper divisions and greater prejudice on both sides. I’ve seen Facebook and Twitter users “unfriend” or “block” people with different political or religious views, rather than keep lines of communication open. In the business world, burning bridges can come back to haunt you. Prejudice grows where communication is stifled. Divisions become deeper. Loyalties are divided.
Avoiding conflict and defensiveness? There’s no need to explain either of those self-defeating behaviors or give examples. We’ve all been on both sides of this same coin at one point or another. Both of these are born of fear, and both are destructive in their own ways.
Scott Sainsbury of BluePoint Agency, a Boston-based ad agency, listed all of these and many more on our Facebook when we asked “How do you self-defeat?” He jokingly decided to put off sharing which of them he practices, by taking a nap. Perhaps he’s beaten them all!
So, readers, how have you been your own worst enemy? Can you share an anecdote we can learn from?
How have you beaten one or more of your own self-defeating attitudes or behaviors? What have been the positive results, either in relationships or in business?
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, or on our Twitter.
Twitter: How Do You Choose Who To Follow?
By · Commentsby Michelle Quillin, for New England Multimedia
“Share This” post by clicking on the “Share This” icon at the end!
Following: Keeping A Short List
I’ve been studying Twitter for almost a month now, reading everything I can get my hands on from the top Twitter “experts,” learning how the service works for those who use it, and evaluating what works and what doesn’t.
The Twitter Fail Whale
One of the things I’ve noticed on Twitter is that there are many different “following vs. follower” practices, even among the “power” users. Robert Kiyosaki, for example, probably best-known for his best-selling book on personal finance called “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” has of this writing 29,052 followers, but follows just 13. We didn’t make that list.
Then there’s Pete Cashmore, the CEO of Mashable, who has 1,948,549 followers and “follows” 2,092 Twitter accounts. We haven’t made that list yet, but I wonder how Pete keeps up with all those people he’s following? I know he uses Twitter Lists, and I would venture that he uses his lists to randomly scan categories of Tweets looking for something interesting to write a blog post about. That’s what I would do if I were Pete Cashmore.
Amanda MacArthur, a popular Rhode Island-based blogger and article writer, has 1,358 followers and follows 570 on her Twitter. When asked how she chooses who to follow, she replied, “I (almost) always accept local friend requests. Also check profile and see what they tweet about.” We made her list, and thanked her for following us.
Following No One, or Following Everyone?
Larry Winget, who calls himself “The Pitbull of Personal Development,” is a best-selling author of books like “Your Kids Are Your Own Fault” and ”You’re Broke Because You Want To Be.” He follows NO ONE, and has 3,940 followers as of this writing. Mr. Winget has been featured on Fox, MSNBC, CNN, CNBC, The Today Show, and just about every major news outlet in the country, so his face and voice have been seen by millions. Yet he only has a few thousand people following him. He actually has more Facebook fans than Twitter followers, but not by much.
He’ll probably gain a few more followers now that I wrote about him and provided direct links to his stuff. I hope so. He speaks the truth with no apologies.
"To Follow Or Not To Follow? That is the question."
Now, interestingly, Robert Kiyosaki has a Twitter for a new book he’s written called “Conspiracy of the Rich.” He’s following 6,111, but “only” has 5,837 followers. We actually made the list of people he’s following. But I’m not fooled by that — I think he’s up to something, since his “personal” Twitter has a very different ratio. I wonder if Larry should pay attention to Robert? He might sell more books than he already does. Or is Larry trying to make a statement? He’s always making statements.
I’ve polled a lot of people about how they choose who to follow, and it seems many “follow back” to be nice. Others follow everyone they can get away with, in hopes that they will be “followed back,” not because they want anyone to read what they Tweet, but because it makes them look more popular and gives them an image that will hopefully drive their true popularity. Kind of like Paris Hilton being famous for being famous.
Following People We Learn From
Then there are those, like me, who follow people I can learn something from in our industry, which is marketing using the web, audio, video and buzz.
Paul Geffen, Software Project Lead/Development Life Cycle Expert and Marketing Director for Boston Wagner Society, told me that’s how he chooses who to follow. His reply: “I follow people I can learn from. And there are many!” This encouraged me, since he follows NEMultimedia, our Twitter account. On his main Twitter account, Paul follows more than follow him, 300 to 153, but according to his blog, he actually has five Twitter accounts. Before you get up in arms and think he’s playing games, he’s not. Read his post first.
James Jones, of MediaDisconnect, says that he follows those he can learn from and that he’s personally met. We made his list, too, after Scott met James at a Southern New England Media Makers event.
So, how about you?
1) How do you choose who to follow?
2) Do you have a strategy that’s purposeful, or do you just follow everyone who follows you?
3) And if you follow everyone who follows you, do you care if they read what you Tweet?
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, or on our Twitter.
7 Things To Look For In An On-Hold Marketing Company
By · Commentsby Michelle Quillin, for New England Multimedia
“Share This” post by clicking on the “Share This” icon at the end!
Nobody wants to be put on hold when they call a business, especially in today’s world of too many tasks, and too little time to get them all done. Being put on hold is a certain way to irritate even the most patient caller. The worst offenders put their callers on hold with dead space, leaving the caller to wonder if they’ve been disconnected. While you have your caller’s attention and ear, you should be using that time to your advantage and to his. You want to think like a caller, and do what you can to not only give him your message, but make it worth his while to be on hold.
"Did I Get Disconnected?"
While you have a caller on the line waiting for your attention, you have an opportunity to not only make an impression on him about your company, but also promote your company’s products, services, and special promotions. With a creative on-hold message, you can educate, sell, entertain, or all three at the same time, resulting in lower frustration for your callers and better returns for your business.
Don’t be afraid of the technology. The range of options and prices may surprise you. There are many equipment options available today for on-hold marketing and phone systems, including virtual on hold systems. The equipment prices at the low end allow even a home-based business to enjoy the benefits of on-hold marketing.
So, what should you look for in a reputable, professional on-hold company?
1) An experienced on-hold messaging service provider should have a list of equipment options available for you to choose from, and a knowledge about the benefits and drawbacks of each. Prices should be clear and up-front on their website.
2) They should be able to either install the on-hold equipment for you, guide you through it, or arrange for it to be professionally installed.
3) Demos featuring each on-hold voice talent they have available should be on their website, so you can choose the voice personality yourself, or ask for a combination of voices.
4) The music a reputable on-hold marketing studio uses should be royalty-free, or the company should offer licensing as part of the price.
5) A professional on-hold message company will offer a choice of music styles, and should have demos of each style on their website. If you get lucky, you’ll find an on-hold company run by gifted musicians who custom-write original material for every on-hold message.
6) Scriptwriting should be part of the package. If you want to write your own on-hold message script to save money, be sure to read it out loud yourself and see how long your message is with breaks, or you may get caught in a frustrating cycle of emails back and forth with the company as they instruct you to cut, and then cut some more.
7) A professional on-hold marketing company should offer to contact you a couple of weeks before an update is due, to give you time to get your marketing materials together.
With the technology available, every business, no matter the size or location, can use their on-hold time to their advantage.
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, or on our Twitter.
