Word Forward

I’m a good writer but every now and then I stumble across a writer who makes me want to crawl under my desk and hide in shame. Today I stumbled across the blog of Shaun Usher. Shaun runs both Letters of Note and Letterheady. I could spend all day in his universe.

I’m starting to get into social media marketing in a big way (after all, it’s just another form of business writing – coming up with an interesting message 140 characters in length isn’t much different from coming up with a slogan) and one of the questions I frequently get asked is ‘How can I get more followers/friends’?

There are lots of ways to get more contacts but it takes time and the most important thing is that you have something there for them to look at. It’s no good trying to attract friends and followers when there’s nothing in place to retain them. There has to be content. You wouldn’t open a store with no stock and expect people to visit. If they do visit, you can be sure they won’t stick around for long. You wouldn’t invite people to a barbie and say, “We’ll get some food and drink in when there’s a 100 people here” – they’ll all just leave.

Yes it’s frustrating sending out tweets to nobody and perhaps a little bit insane to talk to yourself on Facebook but at the same time, you put chairs in your house in case someone visits. So before asking how to get more Facebook friends and Twitter followers, make sure the shelves are fully stocked!

Like many SOHO (Small Office Home Office) owners who don’t work the set 9-5 hours of employees, I’m constantly juggling work and family commitments. Remembering the milk is not so much a problem because I have a milkman (highly recommend http://www.aussiefarmers.com.au) and I keep an organiser on my desk to know what I need to be doing each day but lately things have been getting on top of me. The problem is not so much that I’m disorganised, but that the rest of the house is. (A bout of flu hasn’t helped). And if I’m at my desk all hours as many SOHOs are, the rest of the house doesn’t keep running as it should and I constantly get interrupted for minor things.

This week I had a chance to test run the new Did You Remember The Milk? ebook. It’s a comprehensive planner for the whole family inclusive of everything you could possibly think of – planning for day trips and holidays, babysitter details, meal planner, budget – not so much an organiser as an entire household system. It’s a housekeeper in print form.

I loved the eBook version but I think the binder version will work wonders because it will be accessible to those not yet computer literate:

http://www.didyourememberthemilk.com.au/shop.htm

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Coaches VA

Promote Your Page Too

Why is it so important for your ads or tweeted URLs to direct traffic to a relevant landing page rather than a home page or generic products/services page? Because the majority of visitors will click back or away if the page is not directly relevant to what they’ve searched for or what they’ve been promised.

Let’s compare it to shopping in the real world. In the real world I see a purple shirt in the window that I like, or perhaps I purposely go shopping for a purple shirt. I go into the store and tell the attendant that I want to see the purple shirt that’s in the window or if they have any.

An attendant with poor customer services skills will wave a hand vaguely and say, “They’re over there.” (Equivalent to landing on a home page).

An enterprising staff member might take me to a rack of green shirts that the boss wants shifted. (Equivalent to landing on a generic products page.) Selling a green shirt will make the boss happy, but I the customer am very busy and don’t have time to look at green shirts; I need a purple one. I will assume the staff member is either not interested in meeting my needs or is colourblind.

An attendant with good customer service skills will take me straight to what I want. Then advise me of the different size options. And perhaps even suggest an accessory. (“Do you want fries with that?”)

Help your site visitors find the purple shirt by directing them to exactly what it is they are searching for.

A major challenge for many authors and writers is to keep notes organised. Authors frequently have plot ideas, character outlines and bits of brilliant prose that’s flashed into their mind unbidden during the dead of night scribbled on scrap pieces of paper.

Many writer devise a storage system, whether it’s a dedicated drive on the PC or a concertina file to hold scrap pages and motivational images. (Incidentally, I find Microsoft Office OneNote is an excellent program for compiling and managing data for articles and novels.) But even seasoned journalists find themselves jotting statistics down on a napkin while simultaneously trying to recall a sentence from an impromptu interview.

Could the Livescribe Smartpen be the solution we’re all looking for? According to the website, the Smartpen records audio at the touch of a button and has a built-in speaker for immediate playback. But the Smartpen is more than just recording equipment. It can be connected via USB to transfer handwritten notes and audio to your PC. A tiny infrared camera tracks everything you write or draw (on special Livescribe paper). An optional program will turn your handwritten notes into text – perfect for two-finger typists. Audio can be correlated with written notes; an excellent tool for replaying a difficult or lengthy interview, meeting or lecture.

I haven’t yet got my hands on a Livescribe Smartpen but I want one.

I’ve been in business for three years now. Like a lot of small businesses at genesis, I had a small start-up budget and had to make do with basic, self-created business cards that really didn’t capture the essence of what I’m all about. So I was thrilled last month to win the $300 Business Card competition at the Macarthur Business and Lifestyle expo. My cards arrived today. The team at Tamlyn Creative have done a fantastic job. Not only are the cards as stunning as I’d hoped, the whole experience was professional. Great product, great service.