Cool Tool - I Want Sandy

One of the things that I really enjoy about working on the internet is the cool tools that I run across. Granted, not all of them are worth the time to learn and use, but some are really worth the effort.

Over the next couple of posts I’ll share a few of my favorites.

Today I want to tell you about Sandy (www.iwantsandy.com).

What is Sandy?

Sandy is an online virtual assistant. She won’t write letters or make your phone calls, but she will keep track of your events and details very well. Have something you need to remember? Shoot her an email and she’ll add it to a to-do list, schedule a date on your calendar or just remember it for later.

One of my favorite books is “Getting Things Done” by David Allen. In it, he talks about how important it is to get things off your mind and into a collection bin or inbox. The things that are on our minds pressuring us are most likely things we can’t take care of right at the moment. So we start stressing on the details as they keep randomly cropping up until we can finally take care of it for good…hopefully on time.

Telling Sandy the details allows your mind to relax. You can rest in knowing that she knows and will remind you when the time comes.

How Does Sandy Work?

Telling her to remember something is as easy as sending an email to your private Sandy address in the following format:

Remember to pick up the kids from school next Thursday at 3:45PM.

There are many different types of instructions you can give her. Remember things, set reminders, add to a list, remove from a list, display a list and lots more. You can even cc her on an email to a colleague and get her attention simply by calling her by name.

Sounds great Bob. I’ll see you Tuesday.

Sandy remind me that I am meeting Bob Tuesday at 10:00AM

She will kick into gear just like any good virtual assistant would. Did I mention that this service is free? How great is that?

Hop on over to iwantsandy.com and give it a try. If you’re like me, you’ll be hooked in no time.

Posted in Cool Web Tools, Productivity | 1 Comment »

How Many Domain Names?

As we are in the beginning stages of our online marketing experiment obviously the first requirement is a domain name.

We could cover the how-to’s of domain name registration and hosting. But I really want to talk about the number of domain names required to build an effective web presence.

So how many is too many?

If you have so many domain names that you can’t stay intently focused on a unique identity for each, you have too many. It’s hard enough staying up to date on the doings of one domain, let alone several.

If you don’t have a distinct purpose for having multiple domains I would focus my branding energy on just one.

Don’t get yourself so spread out that your entire online presence suffers.

Can’t I just forward all of the domains to one website?

Yes, but why? Google will eventually get bored with the redundant content and may even get confused on which ones to de-list. They might even get rid of them all.

What are some good reasons to register several domain names?

It’s probably not a bad idea to register each of the most popular versions of your domain (.net, .info etc). If you own the most popular .com version chances are slim that somebody will type yourdomain.net, but it wouldn’t hurt to own it anyway.

If your domain name is easily misspelled, I’d register as many of the obvious misspellings as possible just to avoid missing any web traffic or email.

Setting up micro-sites and micro-stores is very popular now to emphasize a product line or niche. Having a separate domain name may be a good idea in this case.

Some people register different domains for blogs and newsletter sites etc. In these cases I’d probably just use a sub-domain (e.g. blog.onlinebizdirect.com) instead. Check with your web host about setting up sub-domains for your account.

Our goal is to stay focused.

Remember as kids when we used to burn leaves (and other things) with a magnifying glass? The more focused the light became the more intense it was. Let’s focus only on what we can apply that level of intensity to. For now anything else just seems like work for work’s sake.

Posted in Domain Names | 1 Comment »

Domain Name Search Tool

One very basic item required to do business online is a domain name.

One tool I like to use to research domain names is Instant Domain Search. You can start typing in ideas and the availablility is shown to you instantly without submitting.

Ready to register? Just click one of the options below the search field taking you to your choice of registrars. I’ve found the availability results to be mostly accurate (about 90%), but it’s a great entrepreneurial research tool. Two thumbs up.

If you’re in the market for a domain name. Give it a go.

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Yes I Twitter

What is Twitter?

Twitter is a website built for the sole purpose of “micro-blogging”. Similar to a blog except each user has a time line of micro-posts containing no more than 140 characters. Each one gives a tid-bit of information or simply a brief description of “what’s going on now”.

What’s the idea?

A lot of people ask that question. But it’s usually asked by non-Twitterers, if there is such a term.

At its simplest form Twitter is just a way to stay in touch with friends and family. However, the extended opportunities come as you find and follow like-minded people to socialize with around the world.

How do you find those like-minded tweeters? I use the website Summize.com to search posts, or tweets containing topics I’m interested in. Once you find a tweeter that interests you, head on over to their profile page and click “Follow”. You’ll now be updated each time they post in your timeline.

What’s the benefit?

I’ve learned a lot just by following the tweets of other experienced people in my line of work. It’s like having a water cooler but you get to choose who participates.

As you participate you will also develop a following thus building your network. Don’t forget the benefits of building relationships and community. Twitter is a great start.

Visit my Twitter page to follow my updates.

Posted in Social Networking | 1 Comment »

Target your Audience

You’ve heard about defining your target audience. But once you find them what do you say to them? One of the reasons it’s so hard to come up with blog and article content is because most marketers out of habit can only think of a few things to say - and it’s all sales jargon.

Think of your web browsing habits. How long do you stay on a site, or even revisit a site that’s got nothing but sales blab, hype and “%off” signs? Not long I’d suspect.

Think about your target audience. Beyond the sale. Think of them as individuals. Profile them. What are they into? Where do they live? What are their interests? That….THAT is what you write about. Target the interests of your audience. Then build the relationship and the trust. Place your sales pieces in strategic places around your message and the sales will just happen.

In order to make sales offline you must build trusting relationships. The same requirement exists online. Build relationships and community then make the sale.

Posted in Sales | No Comments »

Scheduling Time to Blog

Moving from the offline way of marketing a business to the online world can take some getting used to. A lot of times the flow of getting things done online can be overwhelming. Blogging is no exception.

Productive Bang for your Efforts

When it comes to offline networking events and marketing efforts, think of how many people you are actually contacting or influencing per activity. A few, maybe? Now compare that to the repeated, global and long term exposure you’ll have with one carefully targeted blog post. Realizing the bang for the effort should be motivation enough.

Productivity Bursts

When should you write your blog? Daily? Weekly? Monthly? That’s up to you. How often do you want to be in front of your audience? Whatever you decide, I would recommend you make it both regular and predictable.

In WordPress you have the option to “Publish Immediately” or schedule for later. Keep a log of topics to write about. Then when you have the time, desire and energy, capitalize on the burst and write several posts all at once, scheduling them to appear at regular intervals.

Don’t Go Stale

A targeted audience takes a lot of effort and creativity to build. The worse thing you can do is let your blog go stale. Do whatever you can do to stay current. Keep your audience coming back for more.

We’ll talk more about your audience in my next post.

Until then. Keep having fun!

Posted in Blogging | No Comments »

Blogging - Why Blog Anyway?

Our first step in our chronicled journey is setting up a blog.

If you’ve been around internet marketing long, you know what the most important piece of the puzzle is. Content. And not just a little either. Blogging will help you help the search engines by offering a ton of valuable content.

Hopefully if you are working in your passion you are an expert in your field or at least headed that way. If that’s the case you are full of beneficial content. Sometimes you need some inspiration to drum up ideas, but it is there. In business our goal is to get our message in front of our target audience. Blogging is one of the easiest, best ways to do that.

So where do you come up with ideas to write about?

One of the first places I direct people if they’ve been in the business long is in their email archives. Hopefully you have many opportunities every day to answer questions from prospects and clients.  This is fertile ground for developing rich content. Use your replies, removing any comments directed at the individual, and develop a helpful article/blog post.

Another place to find ideas is message forums. You do participate in online communites related to your product or service don’t you? Find out what the hot topic of the day/week is and post your opinion in your blog.

Finding out what information your target audience is looking for is another great way to come up with content. You can do that by visiting www.adwords.com and clicking on the link in the middle of the page that says “Get keyword ideas”. This is a look into the queries that people do in their searches, specifically Google in this case. Enter a few broad words (e.g. office supplies, auto repair etc.) and get an awesome view into what people are actually looking for. Now take their searches…turn them into the form of questions and answer them in your blog.

Where do you set up your blog?

There are a few, but the most common right now are WordPress.com and Blogger.com. Both of them are free and very easy to get started. Just sign up for your account, browse around some of the tools, pick a template and you’re off to the races.

In fact, if you haven’t already done that, why not head on over there right now while you’re thinking about it.

Have fun!

Posted in Blogging | No Comments »

Passion for the Business

Let’s talk a minute about passion.

Along my path I have met many entrepreneurs and business professionals. One thing that really stands out, present or lacking, is passion. You must have passion if you’re going to succeed at anything. A take-it-or-leave-it approach simply will not get you through the tough times that you will undoubtedly encounter.

But I have found there are two types of passion in business.

A) Passion for the sale

B) Passion for the solution

Passion for the sale is where you will find the hardcore, competitive driven sales types. Often you will find them recovering from corporate burnout. They are desperate and longing for a vacation or even a weekend off. These are the types that can be easily lured away from their position or business with a better offer. The loyalty to the present just isn’t there.

Unfortunately passion for the sale is also where you’ll find many MLM’ers. They can usually drum up some enthusiasm for growing a downline or endless riches, but that doesn’t equal the same long lasting passion for solving the problem.

That’s what business is all about - solving problems - filling a need.

Passion for being the solution is long term. Beyond the sale, it’s more about the mission. These types desperately try to perfect their product or service, even taking it personally. Their radar is up seeking out anybody who is willing to listen to their message.

Without this type of passion you will not be able to endure the endless hours of networking, writing volumes in articles and blog posts and the continuing education it takes to become the leading expert in the field. Passion for the solution will make you forget to eat and sleep. It will make you wish you had more time to learn more, do more.

Before you begin on the journey you must be passionate about the solution. If you are not passionate for what you’re doing, it’s time to find a cause and get busy.

Posted in Passion | 1 Comment »

The Great Experiment

Online Biz Direct is embarking on a grand experimental journey. Around the end of June 2008 we pretty much removed all content and information from our website. Why? Isn’t that crazy? The short answer is yes.

Here’s the longer answer.

We’re doing it to make a point. We have been preaching to our business network for a long time the importance of developing a broad presence online. We have met quite a bit of resistance and complacency along the way. Most of the excuses were either, “The Internet isn’t for my business”, “It’s too complicated or technical” or “I just don’t have the time”.

So we’ve taken our site down and everything related to it to demonstrate the speed and ease at which we can build our online presence even larger than before.

Keep in mind that along the way we are also testing many applications. There are a ton available, but not all of them are beneficial. Your journey will be even faster as we provide you with our data steering you clear of the time consuming junk. We want the resulting information to simply be the easiest and fastest tools to use in building your network and getting the word out.

What have we done so far (other than removing our site content)?

1) Set up a blog using Wordpress. Although we’re hosting our own application, your blog can be as simple as creating a free account at Wordpress.com or Blogger.com (Free)

2) Purchased a Flip video camera to record videos. ($141.00 BestBuy) You probably already have a video camera so this may not be required.

3) Set up a YouTube and UStream account to broadcast video. (Free)

4) Purchased some lights and arranged the office to be more studio-like. ($40.00 Home Depot)

5) Set up social media account(s) on Twitter.com, Facebook.com and MySpace.com(Free). We already had existing accounts on Ryze, Linkedin and Biznik which we will continue to use.

We’ll be covering more details on the purpose of each of the previous five steps in upcoming posts.

Please jump in by commenting to let us know your opinions on what we should be doing. Your input would be greatly appreciated.

I hope you enjoy following us!

Posted in Online Biz Direct | No Comments »